#reader and raph are on the spectrum

[bathomet-writes]

relax

summary: During a movie marathon at your place, Raph and you unwind and have a quiet night in. Lots of cuddling, hugging, and body slams.

relationship: Raph x GN!reader

warnings: romantic, fluff, humor, stimming, light hurt/comfort, sleepy cuddling, established relationship, sfw

word count: 4,105

author's note: this is a request for @/m0om0obell!! i might have projected a little bit onto this lol...but i hope u like it!!

“Hey,” You whisper, setting down the bowl of popcorn. “Can you do that thing?”

Raph briefly tore his attention from your TV. “That…thing?”

He stares blankly at you, slightly unsure. You were both relatively quiet for the last hour or so, fully engrossed in your bi-weekly movie marathon. Your request came sort of out of nowhere. 

It was a cute little tradition you and Raph shared. Of course you loved watching movies with the other turtles, but even you needed a break from the whole group every once in a while. He would show you some of his favorite movies, you’d show him yours. You’d both react with varying levels of excited interest, or mild confusion. You were usually the one who made Raph concerned with your weird taste in cinema. A lot of obscure comedies…and sometimes horror, if you could sneak it in. 

At this point, you were knee-deep in the John Wick franchise since tonight was Raph’s choice. You loved anything with Keanu, obviously, but for some reason seeing all the wanton physical violence was making you antsy. Not nervous, just restless in general. The decent thing to do would be just to get up and walk around a bit, loosen up your tense muscles. But there was that other thing you and Raph did that you couldn’t really do with the other turtles. 

You heave yourself off of the groove you carved into your couch, letting a couple stray popcorn pieces fall from your shirt. 

“Yup, the thing! Beat me like an old rug.” You grin and step out into the open area of your living room. 

Raph’s eyes flit around, perturbed by your analogy. “Uh, if you say so? I don’t mind throwin’ ya around, but why–”

He stops as he watches you rearrange your more breakable furniture. Which was…well, all of it. You set the lamps and various knick knacks in a laundry basket and quickly scooch your couch aside. Once the stage is finally set, you give Raph a shrug. 

“It helps me relax. Now ‘John Wick’ me.”

Letting your body go slack, you turn on your heel and trust fall into Raph’s strong embrace. He chuckles, easily holding you up. 

“You don’t really want me to slam you into the wall, right? And then find every sharp object I can and fling it at your face?” He jokes. 

“That does sound tempting,” you hum, moving your arms up. “Maybe tone it down a bit.”

Like clockwork, Raph slides his hands under your arms and scoops you up. He cradles you delicately, carefully like one would treat a baby. He even puts his palm under your head, making you feel positively nestled. 

Then, he bodyslams you into the floor with a loud THUMP.

The photos hanging on your wall shake from the impact, and the popcorn bowl teetered dangerously close to the edge of the coffee table. 

“Woo! That’s the stuff.”

Raph didn’t really use his full force, he didn’t think he had it in him anyway. Just some playful roughhousing was all it was. Lightly (in reality, it was actually pretty harsh, but this was in Raph terms), he digs his sharp elbow into the middle of your back. You feel your spine stiffen, almost painfully so– before you both hear a loud pop. Another huff of relief escapes your lips, letting Raph know you were doing just fine. 

“Jeez, you need to see a chiropractor.” Raph smiles, lifting you up. “Get ready.”

“I know, but this is much cheaper.”

In an instant, he flings you into the air. You smile contentedly as you sail, reveling in the sensation of being suspended, until you’re grabbed by Raph again. Wrapping his arms around your midsection, he essentially just gives you the tightest hug you think you’ve ever gotten. Nearly all the wind in your lungs gets squeezed out, but it felt nice. Maybe this was a form of stimming, you were still kind of unclear about why you liked getting handled so roughly. You were just happy that Raph was so down to indulge your needs. 

You don’t really notice when Raph angles your bodies back up, with him sitting on the carpet and you in his lap. In the background, John kept dispatching High Table lackeys with ease. 

“That looks so fun. I wish I could be a stunt person, get paid to have Keanu Reeves beat me up!” 

Your voice uses up the last breath you had stored, and you let out a tiny, high-pitched wheeze at the end. Raph eases up on the hug and allows you to take a much-needed inhale. After just a couple of moves, you were satiated. He knew even when he was giving you the most diluted form of his strength, you needed some respite. His orders, not yours. 

“You need more?” He snorts, waiting for you to give him an answer after a couple of deep breaths. He puts a gentle hand on your back and attempts to soothe you back to normal. 

His tender touches make you relax again, and you practically melt into him. If only you could have Raph on standby wherever you went. Work, going to the grocery store, what have you.  You would use any excuse to be physically intimate with him. 

You mumble and debate with yourself, throwing up your hands to weigh your options. “Eh, I think I’m good for now. Thanks, big guy.”

You knew he wasn’t really used to being so casually violent with anyone who wasn’t his immediate family. Despite not being a mutant or a ninja, Raph thought you were actually pretty sturdy. Or at least had a higher pain tolerance than most. Whatever it was, he was glad he didn’t really have to worry about accidentally hurting you or anything. You were a tough cookie, if not a little odd. Your taste in movies was honestly a little stranger to him than this. 

Raph’s gaze dipped from the screen back down to you. “I have served, I will be of service.”

He shoots you a subtle smirk. Looking up at his smug expression, you don’t miss the clever reference he just made. Your eyes remain locked for a couple more seconds, and you try to decide the best response. You should probably know other John Wick quotes, if you were paying attention the last 4 hours or so. 

But watching Raph’s mouth curl into a slow, steady smile was making you a little distracted. You hated whenever he did that, especially when his fang poked through. And he knew it was your one and only weakness, the fiend!

“Damn it.” You scoff, playfully shoving his face away. “You win.”

Raph grins even harder, gathering you up into a regular, loving hug. One that hopefully wouldn’t squeeze you anymore than you needed to be tonight. 

“I mean it, I’m glad I can do this for you. To you?” He quirks his head to the side. 

“Yeah…” You knit your eyebrows together, all of the sudden feeling your tension fading away. It was being replaced with something else, something you didn’t want to have happen right now. 

You were sleepy. And a yawn was building up in your throat. No, you still had a movie and a half of action-packed thrills to get through! Not like this…

After an internal battle, you eventually stretch out your tenderized limbs and let out a loud yawn. Why was relaxation such a close relative to tiredness?

“Hahh…No, no I didn’t mean it! I’m not tired.” You argue. 

However, Raph had already swept you back up into his arms. “Too late! It’s happening.”

You had a sneaking suspicion that he was taking you to bed, but when you felt him reach over to pause the movie, that was the nail in the coffin. Your comfy, pillowy coffin.

“I’m not sleepy. And even if I was, I’ll just fall asleep on the couch and lean my head against your arm, all romantic-like. Doesn’t that sound amazing?”

Your body continues to disobey you. Eyelids growing heavy, the familiar feeling of tranquility warming you up. Your bones became jelly. Knees weak, arms spaghetti. 

“It’s already too late, your bed is right over there…” Ralph’s low, sing-song voice only made you even more relaxed. 

Once he lays you delicately upon your sheets, you fold. You felt syrupy, like thick molasses, your brain becoming dulled with fuzzy thoughts. All your movements were slowed as you lazily kicked off your socks. Thankfully, you were already basically in your pajamas, or else Raph would have surely had to help your change.

Not that you wouldn’t mind that…

“Why are you so soothing?” You whine. His big, surprisingly cuddly body and mere presence was making your vision blurry. He was like a balm for the soul. 

Raph only responded by carefully crawling onto your bed, the mattress having long since lost all its spring. It was sort of a sad, saggy mess of pillows now, but it felt extremely comfortable nonetheless. And supportive. You haven’t exactly slept next to him before, but Raph definitely sat with you on your bed plenty of times. Mostly to just show you internet videos and whatnot, or to chat. You two could talk for hours if you wanted, but right now your faculties were dwindling.

Once you get all comfy and cozy, fluffing the pillows and rearranging the blankets to your specifications, you get antsy again.

What, did you need a glass of warm milk or something? What was making you so weird all of the sudden? The bed was cool, but not cold. Just the way you liked it. And of course Raph was next to you, curled up into his own little nest. 

“You okay? I can move if I’m crowding ya…”

Despite literally all the other perks of sharing a bed with you, the closeness, the comfort, the intimacy, he kind of hated how big he was. He took up nearly all of the space, even with part of his body still on the floor. Right now, he was just kneeling beside you, resting his head on your mountain of stuffed animals you kept in the bottom corner of your bed. It was his little area you made up for him, a courteous gesture that warmed his heart every time he saw your room. 

You sigh, shifting around to find a better sleeping position. Maybe you were just lying wrong. 

“You’re fine, I’m just kinda— I dunno.” You move to lay your head on your folded arm. 

You were usually a side sleeper, and a chaotic one at that. Another reason why you never really liked to sleep with Raph, or anyone for that matter, was because you sort of thrashed. And starfished, your legs needing the entirety of the bed to feel comfortable. And you snored. You were a real Sleeping Beauty. 

“This is gonna sound weird, but I feel…weird? I know that makes no sense.”

“S’not weird. What’s up?” Raph chirps, lifting his head off of your various plushes to meet your eyes. 

You knew he understood what you meant by ‘weird.’ It was like being tossed around, the physical repetition made you feel normal. Made you feel a little less out of place. Sometimes, usually for no reason at all, the world would feel off its axis. The weather would be wrong, or an overhead light would be too yellow. Silly things that shouldn’t bother anyone nearly as much as it bothered you, but they did. You couldn’t put it into words, and it took a lot of time for you to talk to Raph about it. 

But, once again, he accepted you with an open mind and an open heart. And open arms. Just a lot of openness all around. And you were eternally grateful to him.

You roll your head around to look at him at the foot of your bed. His eyes looked slightly unsure, but his kind smile put you at ease. 

“It’s hard to explain, but I just can’t relax today. I don’t know what it is.” You admit. 

Before you could even ask, Raph’s arms creeped their way back over to you. You accept them, moving your arms around to hold his head as well. You felt a little bashful, being so touched-starved. But you needed to feel Raph, even for a moment. 

“What do you need? Do you wanna talk, not talk?”

You shake your head. It really wasn’t that bad, at least not so bad that he needed to do his little spiel. You hadn’t had a full-on breakdown in quite some time. But this was different. 

“No, it’s not that. I just need to move, but my body won’t let me!” You give him a crooked smile, weakly waving your legs around. “I feel so stupid.”

Immediately, Raph shushes you. “You are not stupid.”

He waits until you look him in the eye again, before going on. It’s a firm but loving look, making your heart flutter. You think he’s about to lecture you when his resolve breaks, his eye ridge rising to give you an affectionate smirk.

When he speaks, his tone is resolute. It sends a shiver up your worked-out spine. 

“I’m serious.”

“I know you are. I’m serious too,” you murmur. “I’m sorry. I know when I get like this— Woah.”

You didn’t realize it, but Raph was slowly moving to fully sit on the bed. His spiky shell was cushioned by your many pillows and plushies, shielding your wall from any damage. Before you know it, he has you cradled in his arms again. Only this time, he was actually holding you. 

No, he was rocking you? You felt your body being swayed gently back and forth. 

“Raph, I didn’t mean…” You frown, trying to hide your blush. “I’m not complaining, but I didn’t think you’d actually—“

“Rock you? Of course I would.” He states flatly, almost dismissively.

How the heck did he know…?

You didn’t tell him you actually liked to be held like this? Well, you’d like Raph to hold you in whatever way he pleased if you were being honest. But the swaying thing was something you did when you were by yourself. If you were having trouble falling asleep, you would usually play some ambient music or something. But the physical sensation of being rocked was enough to knock you out cold. 

“You’re kind of scary when you read my mind like that.” You fidget with the fabric of your oversized shirt, whispering into the curve of Raph’s shoulder. 

You hear him say something, and your head bobs back up. Dang, he was good. 

“Wha?” You sputter. 

Raph chuckles, staring into your eyes. Although it was becoming harder and harder the more your eyelids droop. 

“I said you read my mind sometimes too. Like when I’m hungry, you’re right there with a snack. Or if I’m feeling lonely, you shoot me a text. Or call me. If you aren’t already right next to me,” he smiles, reminiscing to himself. 

You try to actively listen as Raph drones on about this and that. The soft rumble of his voice in his chest, the body heat emanating from him, all of it lulled you deeper into slumber. Your concentration was hanging on by a thread, struggling to keep yourself awake. It had been ages since you felt this tired. Or rather, sleepy. This felt much more like ‘sleepy.’

“I get how you feel, by the way. Sometimes I need to go work out or punch a wall if I’m feeling stressed. Even if I’m not feeling stressed, it just feels nice to do.”

Raph takes the opportunity to look around your bedroom again. The only source of light was coming from the hall, a sliver cutting across the floor, up to the wall. You had a lot of stuff, it was actually kind of funny. Raph had a lot of stuff too, but his room was mostly full of exercise equipment or stuffed animals. He thought it was a little weird, but you insisted that it wasn’t. 

Maybe he should take his own advice every once in a while.

You had a lot of movie posters hanging from the wall, among other magazine clippings and such. It was a collage of your personality. A couple months ago, he wouldn’t know what half of the posters were. But after your movie nights, he could at least name some of them. Your room was what a kind person would call an ‘organized chaos.’ Everything had its place, but your method of organizing seemed to be just stacking things until they couldn’t be stacked anymore. A couple of piles of books and clothes littered the floor. 

Raph had been absentmindedly rocking you, his body going to autopilot. He wasn’t sure how long it had been exactly, but he continued. 

For a moment, he feels a snicker come on. It felt kind of like he was rocking a baby to sleep. Not that he really knew what that felt like, he didn’t really know any babies. There was that woman in Times Square who shoved her baby into his arms and took some souvenir pictures. The memory was sort of bittersweet to him. Like the only reason why anyone would allow him to hold a baby was because it was a novelty. Nobody in their right mind would let Raph, the spiky, lumbering oaf that he was, actually hold anyone. Not anyone that deserved so much love and care. 

Your soft mumblings rouse Raph, and you seem to almost talk in your sleep. It startles him a bit, but he stays calm. 

“You’re like…the best. I feel so held, you feel like home. Like from Midsommar, only for real. Y’know?” 

Raph gulps, feeling awkward for the first time tonight. Did you know you were a sleep talker too? He guessed you wouldn’t really know that kind of thing, but it was fascinating. Raph wanted to stay up all night to just watch what you did when he wasn’t around. Totally not in a creepy way or anything!

He’s almost afraid to say anything, lest he disturbed you. He wanted to let you sleep, or do whatever you needed to do. Did you guys always quote so many movies around each other that you did it in your sleep? You were so cute, even like this. 

You snuggle closer to Raph, your arms instinctively curling around his waist. They didn’t come anywhere near wrapping around his entire body. Raph had to bite down a guffaw when he felt your fingers ghost over the area between his plastron and his shell. 

“Gheh—!” He shudders. 

He wasn’t normally so ticklish, but the current situation found him a little…vulnerable.

In your mind, the only thing you could think about was clinging onto Raph. He did so much for you, and you wished you could help him relieve half as much stress as he did for you. You hoped you did, you knew you did. Insecurities aside, all you wanted to do was hold him. Cradle him. Even if your puny arms weren’t big enough.

“Do I feel like home to you? Do you feel held? I want to hold you…” Your words tumble out of your mouth, slurred and dripping with sleep.

There’s that movie again. Why did you keep bringing it up? Raph wanted to tease you, maybe flick you in the nose. But he wouldn’t dare. That movie was actually pretty good, minus all the insanely disturbing parts. Those lines must have really resonated with you for some reason. 

Still, Raph gave your half-awake ramblings some serious consideration. Of course you felt like home to him, it went without question. The being held part was a little less straightforward. And a little more blush-inducing. 

Even if you were currently holding him, your arms snaked around his waist and everything. 

Softly, Raph speaks up. His voice cracked a bit with a bashful hiccup. 

“I, uh— I guess I do feel…held.” 

You hold him even tighter. 

Raph blushes even harder.

Despite being mostly asleep, you had an impressive amount of strength. Enough to make Raph take notice. It didn’t feel desperate or needy, more like one person trying their best to make the other feel secure. 

Deep down, Raph knew. He would tell you some other day, when you were more awake, that he did sometimes feel like he needed a break. Not that he didn’t love supporting you and his family, not at all. It was just…

“I put so much pressure on myself. I’m getting better about asking for help, but when you’ve gotten by for so long without asking, it’s sort of weird. I don’t hold it against anyone, but I wish someone was there to—“

Raph shook his head, he didn’t even know what he was talking about really. Even so, he felt bad for letting off steam like this. But you probably weren’t even listening anymore. The soft sound of snoring down below made it pretty obvious. 

With the utmost care, Raph tried to tuck you back into bed. He thought if he just moved out from under you, you would slide back into your spot on the mattress.

The bed squeaked a bit as he crawled away, making him stop. 

“Phew…” He sighs, gently starting to peel you from his body. 

You didn’t really want to come off though. 

“Huh.” 

Your arms were locked in place, refusing to be removed from Raph’s person. A few seconds of mild struggling was all it took for him to give up. He smiles, a warmth spreading through his chest. 

“I guess I’m not going anywhere.”

He settles back into his spot, pillows and stuffed animals still in place, before letting his mind wander again.

He almost wished you were awake, so that you could talk some sense into him. You were really smart, and one of the people he trusted most to vent to. Venting was good, it let you get all the weird thoughts out of your brain and out into the air. A weight still sat on Raph’s shoulders, so he looked back down to you.

You looked so calm and peaceful, snoozing away. Raph’s seen you take naps before, but watching you sleep was a bit different. This was your room, your private space. It was a great honor to him that you let him into it so easily. 

Slowly, your arms begin to go slack and ease off. Raph watches on as you turn and get into another sleeping position, one that had you facing the door instead of him. His heart drops a little when he feels your absence. 

He wanted– no, needed to have your arms around him again. 

It felt like he didn’t deserve it. Or he didn’t deserve to have so much of you. Raph had to stop himself from getting lost in his guilty thoughts as he inches closer to you. 

As his face got closer to yours, he watched to make sure he didn’t wake you. You must be a pretty heavy sleeper. Once you were down, you were down. 

Looking at you was stirring up all kinds of new feelings within Raph. Admiration, serenity, a profound bond that couldn’t be broken. All his intrusive thoughts and worries didn’t mean a thing when he was next to you. 

Without a sound, his free arm reaches up and encircles your waist, pulling the two of you together. His plastron was nearly flush with your back, and his knees were close to hitting the back of your thighs. The position was almost a little too intimate, Raph wasn’t familiar with how your body felt like this. He felt even more uncomfortable with what to do with his own, but he couldn’t pull away. 

You made him feel cozier and safer than anyone else. 

“Thank you,” he whispers, a yearning hidden behind his words. 

Wordlessly, you stir. With the last bit of consciousness you had left, you move your right hand down from underneath your cheek to lie on top of Raph’s. You give him a light but reassuring squeeze, clutching at his large fingers. It was your way of saying ‘no, thank you.’

When you do so, Raph’s eyes welled up with tears. They had been building up for a while, but your hand was so soothing, enough to let him let out all the pent-up emotions he was holding onto. He wasn’t one to cry easily, but you meant so much to him. 

Raph and you together, it just made sense. 

taglist: @saspas-corner

[redsrooftopprincess]

Hi! How are you? Hope you are doing well! I didn’t see any mention of you ask box is open or not so take your time to answer this! ♥️

Id like to ask for a scenario or Headcanon with the tmnt boys x reader about a situation that happened to me recently, I was venting about work with a friend and she out of the blue just “can I take a picture of you? You look so pretty right now” and proceeded to tell me she felt like she was living the “bla bla bla place name, back story stuff” meme? (If you are not aware it’s basically a meme where someone is going on a full rant and the other can only see them through being pretty and ethereal, even when talking about something super serious 😂) I busted out laughing when she mentioned, I thought about the boys going through the same would be super funny, Maybe their crush doing mundane things and they are literally heartened for it?

If it’s too complicated to do allllllll of them I’d like ask for this to be a donnie scenario then 🫶 I know you are a ralphie girlie (which I adore your stuff for him like it’s so good??? Seriously I’m eating it up your recent posts) but if you feel comfy doing it all or just Donnie it will be more than welcomed!

thank you and hope you have a good day!

I'm unfamiliar with the meme, but I think it's from the LEGO movie? Anyway, I hope this is okay. 😂

Distraction

Donnie x reader

No warnings, just fluff

It didn't take much, and it was so damn frustrating. Especially while he was working.

Donnie restarted the sequence again from the beginning. He needed to get these disks calibrated before the next time they tangled with the foot, but for SOME reason YOU exist, and your soul purpose in life is to torture him.

A scent, a sound, the smallest indication of your existence pulls ALL his focus.

Right now, you're in the living room watching a movie with Mike and Raph, and Donnie just has this *last thing* to finish before he can disengage and join you, but now you're laughing and he's lost count again.

He sighs, ripping his glasses from his face and rubbing his eyes. Replacing his glasses, he glares at the lab's door. He knows he should close it, of course he should close it, closing it is the only way he's going to get anything done.

But the door was in view of the couch and you'd think that was rude, right? He didn't want to be rude...

No. You'd get it. Especially if he could finish up quickly and join you for the rest of the movie. Okay, he was gonna close the door. He nods resolutely to himself before scowling.

An IQ of 187 and somehow you're constantly turning him into an idiot.

He sets down the disk he's working on and stands, walking over to the door. He hears you laugh again and makes the mistake of looking up at you.

Whatever movie you were watching forgotten, Mike and Raph are listening to you tell a story about something that happened at work this week.

It's inane, something about an argument in the break room over the new coffee machines, but the colorful fairy lights scattered about the lair have caught in your hair and eyes, and he is trapped in your spectrum.

It occurs to him that you can't see it. The depth of you. The reds and pinks in your skin when it flushes with laughter, the blue cableing of your veins beneath. Tetrachromacy is an advantage that he's not sure he ever fully appreciated until just now. And it breaks his heart.

There has to be a way to show you. There's light filtering technology that help people with colorblindness. It couldn't be that hard to retrofit a pair of those glasses to fit custom lenses. He'd need to examine your eyes specifically, of course, to ensure his measurements are correct, but he already has the glass grinding equipment, and people are constantly throwing away frames, and it takes him a moment to realize that the room has gone quiet.

He blinks and his eyes refocus to find the three of you staring at him, standing dumbly in the doorway, staring at you.

"You good bro?" Mikey asks.

"Yeah," he squeaks, before clearing his throat, "Yeah," he corrects, "I'm good. I'm just gonna, uh... finish up in here. I'll be out in a few."

You smile at him and he nearly trips over... the door? God, he's a mess. He closes it quickly before he can make an even bigger ass of himself.

He walks back over to his current project and sits back down. He stares blankly at the laptop and scattered pieces of tech for a few moments before sighing heavily and pushing everything aside.

He pulls out a notebook and starts sketching a pair of glasses.

...

Tag list:

@thelaundrybitch @the-cauldron-witch @fyreball66 @ninnosaurus @tmntngl @thegirlwiththeninjaturtletattoos @zagreustomb @ramielll @silverwatergalaxy @gornackeaterofworlds @footninja @daedric-sorceress

[ghostytoad]

hey!! if you’re taking requests, i’d like to request the rottmnt boys falling for a fem! reader who’s basically like your stereotypical raph. she loves fighting, loves working out, loud asf, short-tempered, blunt, sarcastic, cursed with resting bitch face, all that jazz. but, once you get to know her, she’s actually really funny and sweet. NEVER afraid to speak her mind, so she may come across as rude or sassy at times, but she never really means to be. DEFINITELY has mild adhd and is on the autism spectrum. 🫶

Hfhdks yippe, my v first request!! tbh the boys can use a little extra chaos in their life so this was really fun to write abt. hopefully it's decent, i'm still v new to writing this kinda stuff!!

* Kiss with a Fist *

ROTTMNT Boys x Fem! Raph-esque reader who is secretly a sweet softie

Summary: The Hamato brothers unexpectedly fall for an intimidating, snappy, but secretly sincere human.

Headcanons for: Raph, Donnie, Leo, & Mikey

Fem! Reader; Romantic; Fluff; Mild violence || Words: 4k

Feel free to send in more requests and prompts!!

Raph:

to be honest, raph was initially intimidated and wary of y/n when they first met

like sure, he's used to his brothers being a bit too curt and impulsive and april can come off as sassy and overbearing but none of that compares to the levels y/n is on

something about how forward she can be really puts the poor turtle on edge

until he starts getting to know her a little better, finding out more about her hobbies and all

after a period of initial surprise, he starts getting used to y/n's presence in the lair

she fits in almost naturally in their family dynamic; she's basically one of them now and he loves having someone around who shares his interests

plus he could always use a workout buddy; not that his brothers aren't good spotters but he could always use a break from their antics

will take y/n to every wrestling event & spend the entire time gushing about his newest wrestling idol and when they're not out and about beating up bad guys or playing video games, he will allow y/n to sit in and spot him while he powers through his rigorous workouts

he enjoys being able to swap workout tips and tricks with y/n; treats every little bit of advice she gives as divine wisdom & he will take it all to heart

he likes to brag to his brothers about how strong y/n is, especially considering that she can keep up with his mutant abilities; everything she does impresses him to no end

opened a jar of pickles without help? amazing

landed on her feet after a pretty high tumbling jump? absolutely incredible

being able to handle his occasional hugs? literally the best thing in the world to him

having y/n around motivates raph to train harder and push himself past his limits

unfortunately, this has led to a few injuries-

"uh oh. y/n ain't gonna be happy to hear about this..."

cue the scolding, the lectures, and the bedrest. y/n's orders. but raph secretly enjoys being doted on by y/n so he won't say no

it didn't take raph too long to realize his feelings for y/n

he'd been picking up on little hints here and there, but he'd talk himself out of that silly train of thought every single time

like when he'd catch her watching him train and could feel that rush of heat burn at his cheeks

'i've just been training too hard and it's way too hot in here'

and when he couldn't get y/n off his mind when she wasn't around?

'i'm just worried about her is all. who knows what kinda trouble her loud mouth might get her in-'

but it was when y/n was comforting raph after a bust mission one particular night that really did him in and confirmed his feelings

It's bad enough when the brothers fail in their latest mission, but to get their butts handed to them by Hypno of all villains? Eesh, talk about major humiliation stink. The loss had them all silently slinking back into their lair, hoping to sleep off the defeat at the hands of their unimpressive foe. Raph was just about to make his way into his room to mop when he spotted Y/N waiting up for them in the lair's living room. It was upon seeing her sitting there with an unreadable, stern expression that a realization hit him. They had plans later.

"Hey, sorry, YN. No Brunch 'n Punch tonight. Raph's a lil' tired..." his low and gruff voice did little to hide the timid air in his tone. "I-I'll make it up to ya though! Promise!"

Despite his stuttered attempt to console Y/N and her anticipated disappointment, his tired expression and wilted posture gave away just how exhausted and downtrodden the towering mutant was. It was more than enough to tell Y/N a few things:

Raph had another rough day.

Raph once again pushed himself and got hurt.

And Raph needed someone to help carry that weight.

Before he could continue his defeated shuffle past Y/N, he felt a sudden tug on the lip of his rugged shell. Not even a second after, he felt his torso being enveloped by the subtle warmth of what could only be a person. Was Y/N hugging him...? Looking down from his stunned silence, he found Y/N with her arms wrapped tightly around his waist, face hidden by the jutting ridges of his plastron. Unable to find the words to break the tense silence surrounding them, Raph simply lets out a low chuckle as his hand gently caresses the back of Y/N's head.

"If this is about me bailing on our plans, Raph gets it. You probably hate m-"

"What am I gonna do with you, Raph...? What am I going to do if you won't take care of yourself..." Y/N's voice was unusually small.

"Say what?" The mutant didn't know what to make of the wavering tone in Y/N's voice. Was she mad? Was she worried? It was unlike Y/N to be this... vulnerable.

After a few more moments of silence, Raphael broke out of his confusion with a realization. Y/N was still holding him. The exhaustion and shame began lifting its shrouding curse off of him as his body eased into the comforting embrace. So warm. So gentle. So caring. Everything about Y/N was perfect, even the parts of her personality that she chose to share only with him. It was then that another, more pressing realization came to his mind.

Damn, does this boy got it bad. He's in love.

Donnie

he's entirely put off by y/n's whole demeanor and keeps his distance at first; like raph on his own can be a headache to deal with, but now there's two of them??

he won't outright avoid her, he just prefers quieter company

he can't exactly say they share many similar interests, but y/n's newfound spot as a member of his little family gives him incentive to at least try finding some common ground to bond over

so when it comes to the more physical and brawn-heavy aspect of his work, he can truly appreciate y/n's constant presence

god knows he can't trust his brothers to be careful or attentive enough to help him in the lab and april isn't always around to enthusiastically offer her assisstance when needed... but y/n just happens to be the perfect solution to his otherwise frustrating problem

dare he say it: "she's reliable and more importantly always happy to lend a hand"

and donnie really values the way y/n is willing to listen to him drone on about his latest projects and mapping out his complex thought process; all with very little complaint (a huge plus for him!)

in fact, she even seems eager to learn and is quick to pick up on the nuances of his work. he can also understand/empathize with y/n's misunderstood demeanor when it comes to her stone faced expression ('or resting bitch face, as she so eloquently put it')

donnie's never been good at expressing himself; he knows how vexing it can be when everyone seems intent on misreading one's emotions based on something as fickle as facial expression

and the more time donnie spends with y/n, the more he's able to observe her and her subtle mannerisms

it's gotten to the point where he can pick up on her subtle cues and accurately read her mood better than anyone else. to his brothers, it's as if y/n and donnie share a telepathic connection with how easily they can communicate with a simple glance

it doesn't take long for him to get used to y/n's more rambunctious and wild behaviors; when he's not busy working, he will sometimes invite her on their less eventful missions and adventures

he won't say it out loud, but he's really come to respect y/n's combat prowess and her ability to hold her own

admires it even... one might even say he lov-

'nope. no. nein. not the l-word...'

donnie's always quick to catch himself before he can finish off that thought but he can't help himself; cute and mean are just his type after all

whether or not he chooses to pursue those feelings though....

well, let's just say y/n really didn't leave him a choice after she practically saved his life during one fairly unexpected encounter

It hadn't been a hard mission. The Hamato brothers had successfully thwarted another run-of-the-mill robbery at the appropriately named Run of the Mill Pizzeria. Relishing in their triumph, the four turtles, joined by their newest companion Y/N, decided to make a night of it and order a few celebratory 'zzas. It was as Donnie was making his way to the booth that he was halted by the stumbling grip of an iebriated yokai yanking him back by his shoulder. The patron's swaying form crumpled forward as they tried supporting their full weight on the hand that was still firmly locked on Donnie's shoulder.

"'Ey you.... I know you..." the strong stench of alcohol burned at the turtle's nostrils as he furrowed his brow in confusion, "Yer the guy from that brawl last night. Ya dropped my drink!"

Ah. Mistaken identity. Before Donnie could correct them, the yokai straightened in a menacing stance, lifting their hand's grip from him and balling into a fist.

"You... YOU! You owe me a new drink AND a new shirt! Ya ruined MY GOOD SHIRT!"

Ever the smug one, Donnie simply shook his head and with condescension dripped from his lazy grin.

"Perhaps laying off on the booze might help to improve your memory. You're clearly looking for a fight and I'm not one to hold back in battle." With a wave of his hand, he feigned a dramatic sigh, "But I'd reconsider what would be one too many bar fights. I mean, you've obviously done your brain enough damage."

What followed was the unmistakable and resounding thud of a body hitting the restaurant walls. The remaining brothers watched amusedly from their booth as the purple-coded brother peeled from the newly dented wall and collapsed onto the floor, dumbfounded and only mildly in pain.

"He'll be fine~" Leo mused as he caught sight of Y/N's horrified expression.

"He was kinda askin' for it..." Raph shrugged, unwilling to stop Y/N who was now stomping a warpath from the booth to the drunken offender.

"HEY, ASSHOLE!" were the only words uttered before Y/N's flurry of furious punches unleashed themselves onto the yokai's face. Donnie watched fondly as Y/N's strike after strike seemed to reduce the belligerent patron to a pathetic and unintelligable mess on the floor.

Something about her pose, the way her bruised fists were held up in triumphant victory as she loomed over the monster's unconscious form, seemed to pull at the deepest, darkest parts of the turtle's heart. Was she always this badass and cool? Was it the lighting? Was it the concussion setting in? Has she always looked this cute?

"Wow... You're incredible....." Donnie muttered under his breath with awe.

So much for science being his only love.

Leo:

honestly? the more chaos, the better

raph is great and all, but he always had the annoying tendency to boss everyone around, and his ever-growing worry chasm was really starting to irk leo

so it's great to have someone around that isn't always on his case about his stunts or lecture him on dull things like responsibility and duty and all

while he does take into account the fact that Y/N is a human, she's a special human with special priviliges in his mind; meaning open invites to every mission (no matter how dangerous) and her own front row seat to every single convoluted plan leo's made

he's always there to actively enable her loud habits, he just lives for the banter and drama; he calls it his very own telenovela

obviously he'd never let her get too far into it and when things start getting a little too real, he will try getting y/n to tone down the snark and deescalate the situation

can't have his new bestie getting herself into trouble after all! and he'd never hear the end of it from his brothers if she ever got hurt bc of his encouragement

as boring as he finds training to be, having y/n around really helps to spice things up. he's always calling dibs on having her for sparring partner duties and won't hold back much

on the rare occasion that he's not getting into trouble and causing mischief with y/n, he'll show her around all the best stargazing spots new york has to offer (via portal ofc)

no reason in particular, it's just nice getting to see the stars past the haze of the city's light pollution and it seems like something friends do

'it's totally normal for friends to stargaze alone together, right?'

yeah, no he's sure of it. he just really happens to enjoy y/n's company without the constant interruption of his brothers' teasing

it's not like he's asked her to go with him on a magic carpet ride or anything

oh wait...

right, there was that one time when they decided to stop by the mystic city antiques shop and try out the dubiously named "magic carpet" the shop was selling. how was he supposed to know it was a flying magic carpet?? magic could literally mean anything!

he didn't complain when y/n would hold onto him as they weaved through the skies of the hidden city. and it was cute watching her face scrunch up with laughter every time he made a joke

but that's just friends being friends, right??

'this better not be what being wrong feels like because it's not a great feeling at all'

"Alright, Leo. This'd better be good for you to be calling me up at 3 in the morning." April's voice hissed through the call, still rough with sleep and irritation as Leo had called her up on a school night of all times.

Leo gripped tightly at the phone as if it were his only line of defense from the terrible, terrible ordeal he was about to confide. "Apes, you gotta help me! I think I might be losing my edge or something."

"Your... what?"

"My edge!" Leo reiterated, panic set in his tone, "My mojo! The Leo-factor! I think I might be losing it and I don't know how to get it back!"

A few moments of soft shuffling sounding from the phone's receiver met Leo's frantic explanation. April must've been slowly forcing herself to sit up from where she'd been sleeping peacefully only minutes ago.

"... don't 've time for this..." was all that could be deciphered between shuffles.

The disgruntled girl could only sigh, "Okay. Leo. What makes you think you've 'lost your mojo'?"

Leo paused in thought, humming low as he tried to recall his recent mojo-related blunders.

"Okay, okay, so! You know how Y/N's been hanging around the lair a lot more lately? It's like every time she's there, I get thrown off my game. And I mean, I really get thrown off! With everything!"

"Mhm?" April deadpanned.

"None of my one-liners seem to land with her and it's because I keep forgetting how to talk mid-sentence! So I end up sounding like some stuttering moron! And I keep running into things and tripping over my own feet when I see her like I'm the clumsiest chump alive. And just the other night I was out testing the sickest tricks on Mikey's new board- don't let him know that by the way- when she shows up outta nowhere with her smug little smile and throws me off my moves! I mean, all I see is her eyes on me and the next thing I know, I've got a mouthful of gravel and concrete. It's like she's sapping all the cool out of me and I need it to stop like yesterday!" Leo had to take a moment to catch his breath as he explained his troubling situation, clearly unaware of just how clueless he was. April could only wait silently for the information to sink in, a sleepy scowl painted on her face. God, she could just strangle the boy if he were here.

"So you're telling me that you called me up in the middle of the night to tell me that you have a crush?" she hissed once again, the gritting of her teeth audible.

"A what? Crush? Oho, no no no no." the mutant scoffed in disbelief, "I'm telling you that Y/N could be a witch or some kind of energy vampire or something and we-"

"Leo, let me ask you something. What's more likely: The fact that Y/N is a mojo-sucking vampire witch or the fact that you may have some feelings for her?"

The thought hadn't really occured to him before. Could it really be something as simple as a crush that's doing him in? He had been feeling a little different as of late... But he just assumed it was all from the mutant witch powers Y/N might've been using on him. He took a few moments to contemplate, a dark blush gradually forming across his face the more he thought of Y/N.

Well, what's not to like about her? She's a certified badass, she's cool, she's never afraid to give it to ya straight. And underneath that tough exterior was an equally cool but much softer version that balanced out Leo's more impulsive and emotional side. Could it really be that Leo had feelings for Y/N?

".... Do you think Donnie can run a few tests to find out what kind of witch she is?"

"I'm hanging up now, Leo."

"NO, WAIT, I-" Dial tone.

Crush it is then. Man, did he hate being wrong.

Mikey:

ever the eternal optimist, mikey is never one to judge people and gives them every benefit of the doubt until he's forced to believe otherwise

so when he first meets y/n, he takes to her standoffish nature like bees on honey

instant besties right off the bat, even if they have their differences

he's quick to introduce y/n to everything mutant turtle life has to offer, whether it be inviting her over for a few rides on the half-pipe or introducing her to the cinematic magic that is jupiter jim and its many sequels

no matter what they do, he's always there to make sure she's having fun

mikey picks up on y/n's kinder side pretty quickly too

being emotionally intuitive and a self-proclaimed therapist, he is able to see through y/n's more abrasive personality and finds her gentler side to be just as exciting and fun, if not incredibly endearing

he'll even encourage her to be more open with that part of herself by insisting she join him in his little Dr. Feelings sessions he regularly holds for his brothers (totally not against their will)

during the whole session, he'll check in on y/n and ask if she has any thoughts on the matter

"what about you, y/n? you've been around us long enough to get a say. am i right or am i totally right?"

he knows he can trust her more blunt and forward nature to lay it down as it is

but he can also trust that she won't say anything to hurt them just for the sake of it

so she's a perfect fit for the role of Nurse Candid/Assisstant Tough Love

funny thing is, Dr. Feelings can't really talk mikey out of making a fool of himself in front of y/n

he tries not to be too clingy or push too many boundaries, but how can he resist?

she's like the highlight of his little adventures and he genuinely enjoys having her around all the time that he just *needs* to understand every part of what makes y/n her

together, they'd make the ultimate power couple!

er... power couple business-wise

purely professional in this unofficial practice

'unless.....'

time for the Love Doctor to pay mikey a little visit

"Candles? Check. Fancy silverware? Check. A deliciously decadent three course meal prepared by your truly? Check." Mikey took a moment to look over his fine work as he finished setting up a "platonic-but-can-be-romantic" dinner for Y/N. He'd been hard at work all week trying to come up with the perfect excuse to invite Y/N to the lair alone. It wasn't a date or anything! Well really, that was the trouble with this whole thing. It had to strike the right balance of friendly and intimate. With a hint of romance drizzled in. And a sprinkle of platonic fun. Gah, what a confusing mix.

Sighing thoughtfully, the young turtle set down the two artistically prepared culinary plates on the now satin-draped dining table that sat in the center of the projection room. Sure, it might've been a bit cliche but the quiet ambiance of the room was the best choice for a romantic candlelit dinner. Plus if the whole romance angle didn't pan out the way Mikey had hoped, a movie marathon would surely break the tension and shift gears into friendly hangout mode. Everything about this night had been planned to a T, down to the fact that his brothers were busy on another patrol that was sure to take all night.

The orange-clad mutant gave the setup another quick once over and, satisfied with his creation, glanced up at the clock that sat above the projector screen.

"7:18 and I still got a few precious moments to spare!"

"Spare for what?" a muffled voice asked from the door.

Oh no. What were they doing here?!

"Hey hey, little brother~ Nice setup you got goin' here. Very élégante~" Leo teased with his mouth full of pizza.

"L-LEO?! I THOUGHT YOU GUYS SAID YOU WERE GONNA BE OUT UNTIL MORNING!"

"Uh, yeah? The patrol was supposed to keep us 'til morning." Leo shrugged nonchalantly as he licked pizza sauce from his fingers,"But as it turns out, Donnie isn't the math wizard he seems to think he is."

"SCOFF! My mathematical genius is not to be held accountable for YOUR poor planning!" From behind Leo, Donnie stormed in with an incredulous look as pizza sauce drenched his face and upper body.

"Look, if anything, MY PLAN did not call for explosives. That was all you, buddy!" The twin retorted, poking at Donnie's sauce-covered chest with his trusty odachi. Mikey could feel his right eye twitching as he watched the two bicker and consequently ruin his plans.

He seethed through gritted teeth, "You guys were supposed to be gone..."

The strained response brought the two brothers' attention back to their youngest sibling, both raising a brow in question.

"Oh yeah, what IS with this setup?" Leo's cocky smirk did little to hide the teasing behind his question. Did he know?

"Oi, guys! We still gotta clea-" Raph stumbled in, wiping his body down with a red soaked towel as he was presumably the most sauced up of the three. "Woah. Whatcha got going on in here, Mikey?"

Great. Just what he needed. As he did his best to keep his composure, all Michael could do was groan and slump down to his knees, withering with embarrassment before his brothers. "If you guys MUST KNOW, I had a very special night planned for me! I was gonna have a nice dinner with Y/N before you came back and messed with m-"

"Woah woah woah, are you telling me that my baby hermano has a date tonight?"

The heat suddenly rushed to Mikey's cheeks, taunting him and exposing his true motives to his brothers of all people. Raph and Leo compounded that humiliation with their slew of 'aww's and coos. Donnie simply gave his little brother an approving nod and thumbs up as the duo's teasing continued.

"I-It's not what it looks like, I swear!"

Oh, it absolutely was.

"It's not that I like her, I just-"

Want her to be mine.

"I just needed to figure out how I feel!"

But he already knew. He was hopelessly in love.

[well-what-did-you-expect]

hey!! if you’re taking requests, i’d like to request the tmnt 2012 turtles falling for a fem! reader who’s basically like your stereotypical raph. she loves fighting, loves working out, loud asf, short-tempered, blunt, sarcastic, cursed with resting bitch face, all that jazz. but, once you get to know her, she’s actually really funny and sweet. NEVER afraid to speak her mind, so she may come across as rude or sassy at times, but she never really means to be. DEFINITELY has mild adhd and is on the autism spectrum. 🫶

TMNT2012 : Modern Day Cain

included : leonardo “leo” hamato, raphael “raph” hamato, donatello “donnie” hamato, michelangelo “mikey” hamato

summary : hcs: the boys falling for a reader who is similar to raph (attitude, rough and tough act, head-strong, short-tempered, etc.)

warnings : none? pretty sure

disclaimers : fem!reader, she/her & you/your pronouns

track [1 of 1] : modern day cain , i don’t know how but they found me

word count : 618

Leonardo "Leo" Hamato

When Leo first met you and saw that you had attitude, his first thought was 'Oh, great, another Raph.'

It took them a while to get past your rough and tough exterior, but once they got to know you better, they started falling, and they fell HARD.

Full on tripping over her words, getting flustered easily, you're the only thing on her mind when she realizes that she likes you.

Definitely talks to Master Splinter about you.

Would never bring his crush on you up to his brothers, especially Raph.

"So when I have an attitude, you hate it, but when she has an attitude, you think it's adorable?!" would be Raph's reaction upon finding out.

Because you are very head-strong, sometimes you and Leo end up butting heads due to your opinions differing.

You would definitely be workout buddies with Raph.

Also when fixating on something, Mikey loves having infodump sessions with you, especially if you both are fixated on something similar/the same thing.

Leo loves when you get along with their brothers.

Raphael "Raph" Hamato

In the beginning, you and Raph are constantly butting heads. You both are very short-tempered and head-strong so when your opinions differ, it's a bull match between you two.

After some time, it's not as bad as it was, you learn to compromise.

They teach you some stuff as a way of flirting without being obvious.

It takes a while for him to get a crush on you, he's supposed to be the tough guy, he doesn't have time for feelings.

But everytime you remind them that being strong involves being in tune with your feelings, they start to allow themself to fall for you.

He doesn't understand his feelings for you, he's confused. Like 'Why does my stomach feel weird whenever we're training together? Why can't I think straight when I talk to her?'

They don't want to get teased by their brothers so they keep their crush a secret, but everyone knows, except for you.

Donatello "Donnie" Hamato

Similar to Leo, he's not excited that you are basically another Raph. He's not a fan of the short-tempered, sarcastic, loudness that is you.

Being more logical and rational, he clashes with your 'punch first, ask questions later' attitude. But hey, they do say opposites attract.

Once he realizes that he's starting to like you, he tries to avoid you as much as possible. He's had his human-mutant "relationship" experience and it didn't go well. *cough* April *cough*

When you let down your tough exterior is when he falls hard, he basically smacked the floor with how hard he fell.

He's in love with your sense of humor. If you were to crack a joke that had anything to do with science or robotics, he would fall harder than ever.

Michelangelo "Mikey" Hamato

Being the baby brother, Mikey knows how his hot-headed brother is. He knows that Raph can be caring, despite the rough exterior.

Mikey figures you're the same way. Tough on the outside, soft on the inside.

They fall hard and fast, completely head over heels for you. They're like a lovesick puppy, following at your feet, treating you like a princess.

His crush on you is obvious to everyone, except you. At first, you think it's annoying how he's always by your side, but over time, he starts to grow on you.

If you were to come into the kitchen when they were cooking and matched his goofy energy, they would break. They love it so much.

Don't even get me started on when you both are hyper together. You two being energetic and chaotic, he loves it! Although the others aren't too happy with all the commotion if they're busy (which they most likely are).

[yume-chin]

hey!! if you’re taking requests, i’d like to request the rottmnt boys falling for a fem! reader who’s basically like your stereotypical raph. she loves fighting, loves working out, loud asf, short-tempered, blunt, sarcastic, cursed with resting bitch face, all that jazz. but, once you get to know her, she’s actually really funny and sweet. NEVER afraid to speak her mind, so she may come across as rude or sassy at times, but she never really means to be. DEFINITELY has mild adhd and is on the autism spectrum. 🫶

Hey! Thank you so much for the request!!

I was already working on the request you made before but this addition excited me a lot!!

For this reason, I hope I was able to at least comply with your request. I tried with all my might to best represent Raph's character but in some pieces I don't seem to have succeeded, I still hope you enjoy it, happy reading.

๋࣭ ⭑ ☾ ˖° ⋆✧˖｡˚ ๋࣭ ⭑✧ ๋࣭ ⭑ ☾ ˖° ⋆✧˖｡˚ ๋࣭ ⭑✧

A particular first meeting

๋࣭ ⭑ ☾ ˖° ⋆✧˖｡˚ ๋࣭ ⭑✧ ๋࣭ ⭑ ☾ ˖° ⋆✧˖｡˚ ๋࣭ ⭑✧

Request: @jiujiubean

Warning: violence (not excessively), protagonist with autism and ADHD (I didn't want to put it in the warnings but if this topic might bother someone it's better to warn them) and bad english (It's not my first language)

Genre: She/her

๋࣭ ⭑ ☾ ˖° ⋆✧˖｡˚ ๋࣭ ⭑✧ ๋࣭ ⭑ ☾ ˖° ⋆✧˖｡˚ ๋࣭ ⭑✧

๋࣭ ⭑ ☾ ˖° ⋆✧˖｡˚ ๋࣭ ⭑✧ ๋࣭ ⭑ ☾ ˖° ⋆✧˖｡˚ ๋࣭ ⭑✧

It was a quiet winter night in busy New York. Four mutant turtles sprinted through the darkness of the city looking for criminals to beat up and bring to justice. Difficult task for any normal person, but not for them who was their reason for living, to protect New York and their inhabitants from any bad guy who wants to destroy it or who wants to harm those who live there.

The evening continued for a while in total tranquility until suddenly an enormous noise shattered that beloved quiet that until recently had kept the four young people company.

The noise came from an alley not too far from the four and so it didn't take them long to arrive to see what was happening.

Initially everything seemed normal until the unconscious body of one of the Foot Clan members landed at their feet.

“To be able to throw a body like this, the person who did it must certainly be very big and strong” thought the four, unaware of what they would find themselves in front of.

Not having a good view from where they were at the time, they decided to approach out of curiosity and hid in the shadows to have a better view of the whole scene.

What they saw left them completely stunned and astonished.

A person of short stature was fighting against other members of the foot clan and managing to keep up with everyone. He almost seemed to be able to predict every little attack that came his way and intervene accordingly and between dodges and precise blows, one by one he defeated them all.

They still remained there trying to see the face of the person who had just finished fighting but they soon realized that his face was partially hidden by a black mask that left only his e/c eyes exposed. In addition to the eyes, some h/l h/c hair disheveled from the fight that had just ended were visible and some of this hair was stuck to the forehead due to the light layer of sweat that had formed.

-WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING LETTING THERE?! YOU NOW MADE ME LATE FOR TRAINING! GET UP, I WANT TO FINISH DESTROYING YOU!! - you shouted, moving one of the members of the foot clan lying on the ground with your foot.

-You act so boastful and then deep down you're a wimp...- you spat annoyed and then snorted.

Suddenly, to the surprise of all four of they, you took off your mask to take a breather and wiped away some of the sweat with the back of your hand before bending over to the backpack you had just reached and taking out a pack of damp handkerchiefs to clean your hands.

-How disgusting...- was the only thing you said as you continued to clean your hands with a disgusted face.

Just then Mikey accidentally poked the dustbin near his hideout catching your attention.

You immediately became defensive, staring into the darkness in their direction and the boys jumped at your sudden movements.

-who is there?!-

None of the four moved and so you immediately grabbed your phone to light up in their direction. Your eyes widened at the sight.

-What are you?- you asked, keeping the flashlight towards them to avoid missing any of their movements.

Leo stepped forward - well, doesn't it seem obvious? we're turtles - the young man teased you.

-Ah, thank you very much for the explanation, now everything seems normal to me and I will go home calmly as if I hadn't seen anything strange like four talking turtles with bands and weapons... yes, thank you very much-

-You see that we understand each other, huh?- Leo replied

-I was being ironic anyway- you snorted, thus triggering Donatello's curiosity, perceiving you to be partly similar to him.

-Can you tell me what you are and what you are doing here? I want to know if I have to kick your ass or I can go home... you know how it is, it's late to be around-

-My brother is right- said Raph, -we are mutant turtles...- he added, -ninjas and teenagers- concluded Mikey.

You stood there looking at them one by one without ever meeting their gazes - it would be hard to believe if you weren't in front of my eyes...-

-But you're still afraid of us, aren't you?- Leo asked

-Mh?-

-I say, it's true that you didn't have any particular reactions but you're avoiding our gaze as one would avoid a monster's gaze- Leo replied

-I can safely tell you that you are wrong Red-eared slider-

Leonardo stood there looking at you -so why are you avoiding our gaze?-

Donatello intervened -Asperger? True?-

You nodded causing confusion for the other three.

-What are you talking about Donnie?- Raph asked looking towards his brother.

-He just confirmed a doubt I had, he has Asperger's syndrome, a high-functioning autism spectrum- Viola clarified.

-Ah, well, then I'm sorry for accusing you... anyway, nice to meet you, I'm Leonardo- he held out his hand to you without however receiving a shake from you who remained there staring at his hand.

Leo seemed to get annoyed by this but you immediately explained - I don't feel comfortable having physical contact with someone I don't know unless it's for a fight, don't take it amiss Leonardo. Anyway, I'm Y/n, nice to meet you- you bowed slightly in greeting.

-No problem, anyway they are Raphael, Donatello and Michelangelo- he introduced the brothers, pointing to them one by one.

-Anyway, you're fantastic at fighting!!- Mikey cheered, -where did you learn??- he asked.

-Let's say I was forced to do Kickboxing to let off steam and solve my anger problems but just today these failures blocked me and made me miss the lesson I had and so I thought it was appropriate to take lessons with them-

-Well, you're right to channel your anger and vent it in a sport like that, it's very useful- Raph complimented.

-Said then by a giant turtle with anger problems- Leo teased, triggering a blush from his older brother.

You laughed - but I can say that I'm happy to have missed the lesson, so I have the opportunity to get to know you - you smiled sincerely.

-Awww! You're so kind Y/n!! - Mikey approached to give you one of his mega hugs only to be blocked -n-not naw please- you smiled a little uncomfortably and then gently caressed the younger's shoulder -sorry! I did not think about it! but anyway I feel honored by this caress - he chuckles happily.

-Anyway, it's too late to go home alone, let us accompany you- the redhead proposed

-Do you have anything else to do? I don't want to disturb-

-No way!! We were on patrol anyway, and then we'd like to help a new friend, wouldn't we guys? - asked the blue one only to be followed by the three brothers who nodded to his question.

-Thanks guys, I really appreciate it- you smiled and then walked towards home chatting and joking with your new four friends.

๋࣭ ⭑ ☾ ˖° ⋆✧˖｡˚ ๋࣭ ⭑✧ ๋࣭ ⭑ ☾ ˖° ⋆✧˖｡˚ ๋࣭ ⭑✧

I really hope you enjoyed it and thanks for reading. ♡

I remind you that requests for TMNT (2012, bayverse, rise and mayhem) are still open so if you have any ideas come forward :)

A big hug ♡

[faetaiity]

Hallo, hate to bother ya but is it okay if I request poly turtles (dark au or normal) x y/n who like physical affection but is kinda selective about affection (don’t know how to describe it, kinda like Donnie I guess).

You don’t have to, just wondering!

Two posts within a week?? wow I might actually get back to a decent schedule, hopefully. I went with Normal! bc I have so much shit for Dark AU, I just wanna appreciate my original boys, y'know? (also, I'm fucking around with how my posts look, so, sorry abt that besties :'}) I left the cause of Reader's Selective Affection/Selective Touch up to interpretation but it's mainly written for those who get overstimulated (ASD)

✩ Poly! Rise! Turtles x GN! Selectively Affectionate! Reader ✩

Post Format: Headcanons

CW/TW: angst for Leo's areas and possible hints of Mikey guilt tripping you unintentionally at the end

✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩

They actually take it pretty well once it's explained to them.

Donnie takes it the easiest, obviously, But Raph also takes it generally well, maybe not as well as Donnie but that's to be expected tbh, I can't decide who would take it the worst though, definitely Mikey or Leo, though.

Now that I think about it, Leo probably takes it worse but gets over it VERY quickly

Why?

Donnie. Donnie will actually beat his twin's ass over it, understanding how it feels to be touched when you don't want to be (even if your issues don't stem from overstimulation.)

But Mikey very rarely gets punished from it due to baby sibling privileges, it'll take him longer to respect that boundary, especially if you don't regularly enforce it with him.

Now that's not to say that he doesn't respect it, it's just, like Leo, he's a very touchy person affection-wise, his preferred choice of showing love is physical touch.

He'll end up stopping all-together until you tell him it's okay, until then? Surprise hugs from behind!

I'll get more into them now, that's just the things that came to mind immediately.

Raph respects it, he might mess up a little bit every once in a while, and he apologizes profusely once it happens

Because while he definitely respects your boundaries 1000%, his usual form of affection is physical touch, but he'll try to find other ways! It'll just take a bit :}

Donnie definitely respects it, scarily so, often avoiding even brushing against you if he can help it

As he has Overstimulation issues and hates being touched at times, he understands the feeling, often he struggles to understand if your selective touch doesn't stem from ASD/SPD (Autism Spectrum Disorder/Sensory Processing Disorder), but he treats it like it is so it's easier for him to relate to.

Leo is difficult about this, I consider Leo a boundary pusher when he doesn't understand or agree with something, for this, it's the former

He doesn't understand why you don't want him to touch you sometimes, if it goes on long enough, he might start to doubt you love him, as his insecurities kick in and overthink about it, he'll think you hate him and just can't find a way to break it to him that you don't love him as much as his brothers

His walls get wrecked and forcefully torn down during this, which is why he gets desperate for affection from you, leading to him getting his shit kicked in by Donnie, just treat him with patience and have a talk with him about it, okay? It'll make him feel a lot better

Mikey is also a Boundary pusher, but not intentionally! He's just.... super Physically affectionate..... he wants to cuddle his darling 24/7 and gets a little bummed during your No-Touch/Affection periods

He still tries to sneak in a hug or cuddle, leading to Donnie scolding him (Donnie is the only brother who calls him out on this behavior lmao), he slowly gets more and more respectful, especially if you call him out on it. He doesn't want to make you uncomfortable after all!

Unlike Leo, he doesn't get insecure about this, he knows you love him, you say it all the time! Why would you lie?

Once you get out of these moods or if this is a constant thing, warm up to the idea of being touched by them, they're ecstatic.

Raph loves cuddling and peppering you with kisses for hours and playing cutesy games like AC:NH on the switch, probably tickles you if you're okay with it.

Leo gets emotional and just clings to you, especially if his insecurities were really bad before you gave the go ahead, you're not allowed to pee or get up for ANYTHING for a couple hours lmao.

Donnie is a 50/50, mainly because if you are okay with touch again, he might be in an Overstimulated state, so sometimes you don't get to cuddle him, but when you do? He's clingy like Leo, understanding that he doesn't know when he'll get the chance to do this again.

Mikey lovebombs you, dragging you to the couch to hug and kiss, constantly complimenting you and whining about how hard it was to not hug you, because he loves you so much!!

All in all, just give them patience and communication and they'll try their best to make you comfortable

7/10, communication is key, boys, communication is key.

✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩

Sorry if it's bad by the end, I'm super tired lmao, but I had the motivation to write and idk when I'll get more :'}

[vampwritesstuff]

Bayverse tmnt Boys (if you don’t do Bayverse then 2012) with an autistic s/o who’s very blunt and expressionless. Like, you could tell them the funniest joke and their reaction would be „haha, that’s so funny. 😐“. Will say the sweetest stuff to the turtle and will look like a stone wall the whole time.

TMNT Brothers with an Autistic Reader

Okay, so I’m gonna try my best on this, disclaimer that I am not autistic and I can’t speak for anyone who is, however as it was a request I am going to step out of my comfort zone a little bit and try to do this ! I really tried my best and I’m so sorry if it’s not up to standard, and please please correct me if I got something wrong !

Type: Headcannons

TMNT Version: Bayverse TMNT !

Request?: Requested, refer to ask above

CW: Nothing serious, maybe angsty if you squint? Mostly fluffy stuff ! It’s a little short cause I wrote this while at work.

LEO

- Was taken aback when you straight faced told him that you loved him.

- At first, he thought you didn’t actually mean it because of how seriously you said it with such a blank face.

- But after a little explaining, he understood that you struggled to show express emotion due to your autism.

- It still surprises him sometimes to watch you show affection with little emotion.

- Thinks it makes you unique and makes a point to remind you of that.

- He doesn’t push you to show your emotions and is completely content just knowing that you’re being yourself.

RAPH

- He doesn’t mind that you show little emotion when it comes to verbal affection.

- He, himself, has never been one to show affection.

- It doesn’t bother him when you call him pet names with the straightest face.

- You guys found a happy middle when it comes to lovey dovey stuff and it works great for you both.

- Thinks it’s actually really adorable when you ask to cuddle with a straight face.

- Willing to fight anyone who makes an off handed comment about how you don’t show much emotion.

MIKEY

- Has more than enough expressiveness for the both of you combined.

- Makes it his mission to get at least a smile outta you.

- Head over heels for you when you laugh at his jokes, like “Ha Ha, that’s a good one Mikey.” And there’s just no expression on your face.

- But what you lack for in emotional affection, you make up for with physical affection.

- Mikey loves your hugs, like borderline obsessed with your hugs.

- He’s always looking forward to the next time he can test out a new joke or pickup line on you.

DONNIE

- He’s very curious at first, and asks a bunch of questions.

- I headcannon that Donnie is also on the autism spectrum.

- Totally content with you not being super expressive with your feelings.

- Still though, he’s very happy that you even consider telling him that you love him.

- Will have the biggest smile while you thank him for a gadget he made you.

- Constantly reminds you that you don’t have to be emotionally expressive for him to know how much you love him.

[biggesttmntfanintheworld]

Platonic! rise! turtle tots x babysitter! teen! gn! Reader headcanons!:3

you and splinters relationship is STRICTLY platonic btw

you can be yokai or human it doesn't matter:3

raph is 7

leo is 6

donnie is 6 and on the autism Spectrum

and mikey is 5 and has ADHD

Raph

Secretly likes when you call him your 'big baby'

He doesn't like to be carried that much

but only on special occasions:3

he thinks he's a 'big man'( he is >:( )

Likes when you play toys and roblox with him

play sports ball with him please

PLEASE-

would play pranks on you(with the help of leo)

but he lubs you i swear

every time you come over he always runs to hug you first

speaking of running

he always challenges you to race

but ofc you beat him bc his legs are very small

YOU BETTER LET HIM WIN THO

you have to bathe him or he won't not even with his father

please do i'm begging you

hes stinky

he calls you using his dad's phone and BEGS you to come over and play

he calls you big bro/sis

"hey uh big bro/sis? can you come over i'm so bored"

"honey its 3am"

:3

Leo

Where do I start

Clingy...

Very clingy

Like super duper clingy

He definitely hugs on you and does not let go

He calls you his mama/papa 100%

Or mommy/daddy

he has serious attachment issues to you

i mean your always there!(not like someone)

he definitely hugs your leg and never lets go

so you just walk around with a baby turtle on your leg

its so cute bro

says 'i love you' 500 time a day

"i love you mama/papa"

"i know sweetheart"

YOU BETTER SAY I LOVE YOU BACK>:(

your the one who got him those action figures he has of Jupiter jim

if you know how to skate you're the one who taught him how to

asks you for pizza

all

the

TIME!!

"mommy/daddy can i have pizza?"

"this is the 70th time you asked-"

:3

donnie

(my fav son)

doesn't like hugs that much

he opts for a high five tho:3

always in his room/lab

so if you want to say hi to him when you come over you have to go there

he calls you by your first name or just babysitter

he LOVES to play video games with you

like roblox and stuff

he doesn't like pranks

he hates them sm

no pranks

don't to it.

I hope I made my point across

anywhizzle

he sometimes just likes to be next to you

he loves your presence so much

idk why

he just does

he likes to be carried...

but he doesn't like hugging...

it's a strange phenomenon...

sometimes draws little Doodles of you and him

you better hang it up on your wall>:(

" um first name? i made you something..."

he shows you the drawing of you and him holding hands

"aww its beautiful baby"

:3

mikey

the cutiest of cuties ever!!!

the smallest of smalls ever!!!

like leo hes super clingy

butttt...

1000 times more

he loves it so much when you carry him

SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMUCHHHHHHH

it's the best thing in the world to him:3

SO.

MUCH.

HUGGGGGGGGGGSSSSS!!!!

he draws so much drawings for you!!

you have a dedicated wall in your house/apartment to all his drawings

he calls you mommy/daddy

or mama/papa

and maybe mom/dad

he definitely Waddles...

picture this

imagine you're cooking breakfast for the boys

and behind you hear little feet patting on the floor

and you look behind you and you see the cutest little baby(mikey) waddling up to you tiredly

"hi mommy/daddy..."

"hi cutie patootie!"

:3

im sorry for being gone:(

i hope you guys like this:333333

[brightlotusmoon]

Dear TMNT Fandom,

Remind me, please, who here is autistic and writes Imagines and requests? I have a request for anyone who wants to try in their style.

"What if: Mikey has a nervous breakdown in front of Donnie, who figures out Mikey has had depression for a while. Not to mention ADHD RSD and autistic burnout. Autistic ADHD Reader can be involved in whatever capacity."

[douchebagbrainwaves]

YOU GUYS I JUST THOUGHT OF THIS

Google didn't come close to that. For example, thinking about getting a job will make you want to do it well, those who do raise VC rounds will be able to set x to some value and then start doing things to x. Between these two sources of variation, the college someone went to Stanford and is not obviously insane, they're probably a safe bet.1 But you can never predict how big a Microsoft is going to be seeing in the next couple years. When you're a kid and you face some hard test, you can only imagine the advantages of young founders are. One of the biggest individual fortunes, but they are still missing a few things. Sometimes it's because the writer only has very high-level data and so draws conclusions from that, like the role of technology in wealth creation. But if they don't invest more. But the just-do-it model and the careful model, I'd probably choose just-do-it model and the careful model, I'd probably choose just-do-it model and the careful model, I'd probably choose just-do-it model and the careful model, I'd probably choose just-do-it. What made oil paint so exciting, when it first became popular in the fifteenth century, was that you had to get over to start a startup with someone you like, because a lot of instincts, this one wasn't designed for the world if people who wanted to do that? I don't know much about mail headers then, and they seemed to me full of random stuff. Because Woz designed this computer for himself, and he wouldn't have had time to work on ideas that few beside them realize are good.2

Otherwise Robert would have been it. This varies from field to field in the arts, and particularly in oil painting. Just that all other things being equal a painting with people in it will be. In addition to being the right sort of experience, one way or another it will be more interesting than one without. It will be longer on the Internet in 20 years, I wouldn't dare to make any predictions, except that things will change a lot. Most people could see how it might be, but it is quite true. Bittorrent and YouTube have already trained a new generation of viewers that the place to watch shows is on a computer screen. Before Mark Zuckerberg started Facebook, his default expectation was that he'd end up working at Microsoft.

Books in most fields are written by people who don't understand it. And that also means there will always be lots of Java programmers, so if they saw a startup they liked, they should make them an offer. Even in cable TV, the long tail was lopped off prematurely by the threshold you had to get over to start a startup, don't write any of the code while you're still in school. Over time, the default language, embodied in a succession of popular languages, has gradually evolved toward Lisp. 16% false positives means that filtering is not just classification, because false positives are my bug list. And if at the last minute two parts don't quite fit, you can probably get the right answer. When a VC firm can only do about 2 series A deals per partner per year, they're careful about the headers and the bodies became much spammier. There's something fake about it. Usually it's the replacement. This is one reason I'd bet on the 25 year old has some work experience more on that later but can live as cheaply as an undergrad? All users care about is whether you make something they like.

The most common way to do it with no indication of whether you're succeeding. What do you do?3 It increases the work of being inconsistent. Once it became possible to get rich as a startup founder, but that you have to put up with some inconvenience to do it. It's a little misleading to put it into words. When they were in school they knew a lot of C and C as well as all uppercase and all lowercase. Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft was 24, and that assumption turns out to be convenient.

Unnecessary meetings, pointless disputes, bureaucracy, posturing, dealing with other people's mistakes, traffic jams, addictive but unrewarding pastimes.4 The key to this mystery is to revisit that question, are they really worth 100 of us? The solution to this puzzle is to realize that economic inequality should be decreased. A really good hacker can squeeze more out of better tools. If you open an average literary novel and imagine reading it out loud to your friends as something you'd written, you'll feel all too keenly what an imposition that kind of thing is upon the reader. Code size is important, because the Internet dissolves the two cornerstones of broadcast media: synchronicity and locality. It seems to be x. If you're writing software that has to pervade every program you write. Now high school kids could write software or design web sites.5 Python copies even features that many Lisp hackers consider to be mistakes. So you can test equality by comparing a pointer, instead of the head of a list.

There they have the right idea, but it's extraordinarily rare for one to talk about startups, but philosophically they're at the opposite end of the spectrum could be detected by what appeared to be unrelated tests. He didn't foresee the future of startup investing, realize it would pay to be upstanding, and force himself to behave that way. Where is the breakeven point?6 That seems like it would be useful not just to would-be startup founders but to students in general, because we'd be a long way toward explaining the mystery of the so-called super-angels seem to care about valuations. And the big hits often look risky at first. I'm less American than I seem. Is the author flippant, but correct? Does it seem plausible that the people who currently go into finance to make their fortunes will continue to do so but be content to work for a while and observing certain other signs, I have a lot of Internet startups are, though they may not have had this as an explicit goal. This practice is not only quicker, but you get feedback as it progresses. If you had one, you were rich.7

Notes

Everyone else was talking about why something isn't the last step in this essay, I want to save the old one was drilling for oil, over fairly low heat, till onions are glassy. There is not much use, because they want to approach a specific firm, the median VC loses money. Yes, I would take Abelson and Sussman's quote a step later in the future as barbaric, but one by one they die and their wives. Donald J.

05 15, the employee gets the stock up front, and so effective that I'm skeptical whether economic inequality—that an idea that could start this way, because the kind of people thought it was the season Dallas premiered. Down rounds are bad.

4%? All he's committed to believing anything in particular made for other people thought of them is a self fulfilling prophecy. This doesn't mean the hypothetical people who did it with.

Spices are also the golden age of tax avoidance. In fact since 2 1. The philosophers whose works they cover would be to become a so-called signalling risk.

When I was a test of investor is just like a loser they usually decide in way less than 1.

University Press, 2005. Heirs will be maximally profitable when each employee is paid in proportion to the rich paid high taxes during the Bubble a lot about how to use those solutions.

Now to people he knew. But that was a small company that could evolve into a decent college. Founders are often surprised by this standard, and the exercise of stock the VCs want it. What they forget is that we're not.

Thanks to Paul Buchheit, Raph Levien, Matt Cohler, Sam Altman, Fred Wilson, Jessica Livingston, Ron Conway, Langley Steinert, and Ross Boucher for putting up with me.

[brightlotusmoon]

I'm boosting this because when I first posted it I was posting a lot of stuff. Also I still don't know who to tag.

@darksaphire2002 ? @the-second-circle-of-shell ? @drgrcngrl ? @lotus-and-the-terrapins ? @supershiny-raven ?

I need more fandom writer friends: hi, @diploglottis and @ulisabarbic-blog @silexwitch how are you my dear beta readers

I had been wondering if I could send the same Ask to multiple imagines writers in the fandom to see their styles. I will probably write these anyway, but I genuinely like seeing how others handle the same concept.

"Oh, my requests are usually stuff like

"Mikey learning he has ADHD and it's eye-opening and he steals Donnie's Neuroscience textbooks, hyperfixates on learning about the brain, wonders how close to human his brain really is and how the mutagen affects him and wonders if he's also autistic and he diagnoses his brothers and stays up with Donnie or The Reader all night talking about brains while cooking."

or, I might ask

"Mikey gets badly injured on patrol and he's already separated from the team, and he's not sure if Don can track him so he meditates to try and reach someone with psychic powers he didn't know he had and then he passes out and eventually they find him and he's basically dying and it's a race to save his life in Donnie's new infirmary that was updated because of their new human contacts, yes he lives."

I could write these myself but I love seeing how other writers take the ideas."

See? It's complex and I am a coward.

[brightlotusmoon]

Wait, it’s LGBT TMNT week? COOL.

*cracks knuckles*

Headcanon:

gray-asexual aromantic Leo, panromantic demisexual Don, aromantic pansexual Raph, gray-asexual demiromantic April, pansexual genderfluid neurogender demiboy Mikey, trysexual panromantic Casey. Games of Twister are fun.

It took me a while to figure Raph out. To me, he’s not a bubbling cauldron of hormones as much as a nervous pupper needing solace. A reader once asked why Gaia and Raph only had sex in the astral plane since Raph was so physical, and I said that that the point - Raph didn’t want to hurt anyone, no matter how much Gaia assured him about her fibromyalgia and cerebral palsy. In the spirit plane they can be as kinky and intense as they want.

“Apriltello” always made me feel weird precisely because I always see April as on the ace spectrum when not paired with Casey. The reason she was with Casey was because Kevin and Peter didn’t want her with a turtle and the turtles were most likely asexual themselves. But that was Mirage, in the 1980s, and it’s the late 2010s now. 2003, 2012, and IDW have shown that Donatello had a small crush on her. In my stories I very specifically ignored that in favor of pure platonic squishes, but I know it at least used to be there.

In the “Cold Fire Rising” sequels where I introduce my pansexual OC who has my disabilities, I involve Mike and Don in a polyamorous triad with her. Since she’s a telepathic neuropsychologist who is really fucking open about love, therapy sessions involve sex. For Raph and Leo, it’s astral plane only for Reasons. I know people don’t read “CFR 3: Lightning Crashes”, but it’s important to the AU, even with the “OC has sex with all four brothers plus Karai” thing.

Besides, the award-winning “CFR 4: Crossfire” might be a little confusing without it. So much comfort sex.

Ah, shit, that reminds me. “CFR 5: Mind Games” will finally have Mikey come out as autistic after Gaia and her sister Rhea blatantly point it out after Mike helps Donnie with a thing and Gaia’s like, “Guys, he’s autistic as fuck how did you not realize this? Oh right, isolation underground.” I know he (and Don) are aut in “Mikey The Lifegiver” and “The Sunshine Child” but if I’m going to give my OC my disabilities, well, blah blah blah. Fanfiction AU allows for many liberties.

Also I surprised myself with how much attention I’ve been giving Donatello in my fics outside of his relationship with Mikey. Donnie’s the fandom darling so I have my reasons for being so extremely Mikey-centric. But Donnie is growing on me as a point of view character. That means he’s in trouble.

[brightlotusmoon]

Earth And Oxygen: The Heart’s Brain

(Note: I have no idea where this came from. I started writing it from a slip of a thought, and in less than an hour, this whole thing happened. It takes place sometime during the “Water And Oxygen” story, I think. It’s more B-Team fluff, and I think I’m gonna put it on FFnet and AO3 and maybe DA. I keep getting anonymous reviews about “Don being somewhere on the autism spectrum” which makes me groan because that is not the wording anymore, it’s technically not a spectrum, it’s like a curvy shape, a Mobius strip, an Infinity knot, an Ouroborous. Spectrums mean a high and a low, and that’s not what autistics do. So I think I unconsciously wanted to prove that “Look, you’re trying to stereotype a character, is it because he’s into science? There are plenty of reasons why he’s autistic, but stop shoving him into these holes. Fuck’s sake, I’m autistic, here, read this.” And then I make little mention of the stereotype. We...we are difficult to pin down, okay? And I’d rather readers come at me with “but why” rather than “because this”.)

Earth And Oxygen: The Brain’s Heart

It’s been a few months since Donatello realized that both he and Michelangelo were Autistic, sliding along different paths and traits along what Mikey calls “the infinity knot of autistic neurodivergence!” with a grin and sharpness that stuns Raph, who has always teased him for his lesser intellect. Mikey isn’t a master prankster for nothing. Hiding in plain sight, planting traps in obvious places...including his own brain. April clapped in glee when she helped Donnie to the tests. Dr. Rockwell just smiled enigmatically, and Donnie thought the monkey man would bring up Mikey’s obvious ADHD Inattentive Type but he didn’t; they already knew, and it was an associated disorder anyway. But now that Donnie thinks, really really thinks, he understands. He is grateful. It means that he and Mikey can communicate with each other in ways no one else can, and it’s okay that Mikey doesn’t understand all the bigger words, he wants to learn them anyway, and Donnie can’t suppress the glee so he doesn’t, and when Mikey bounces into the lab now (”Hey, Donnie, whatcha doin!”) no matter if it’s a bad time, Donnie just tells him to sit down in one of the spinny chairs and wait, and he does, he waits, he stims on his own, and Donnie put out colorful things, rubber objects and strings, pipe cleaners figurines, and Mikey is busy playing reverently and then Donnie is finished, and Mikey jumps up and dances over to him with that prize-winning grin that radiates mischief and sunlight. Sometimes in one hand he brandishes a textbook, usually something to do with psychology or neuroscience, he likes the social sciences best, learning about people and society and culture, what and why and how.

They never bothered with gender roles or gendered toys, there was no point in the underground where any toy was treasure and any scrap was enough. Mikey still loves tiaras. Donnie makes sure that if he can he gets some of his chemistry experiments to shine and shimmer, glittery like blinking stars in the distant night, enough to make Mikey’s eyes light up like lamps in the dimness of the lab.

Raph stopped mocking Mikey, specifically, with certain things, and Leo stopped scolding Donnie about trying harder. It took some work with those two. They were always stubborn, Mikey called them emotionally stunted after he got through that first psychology book. Leo didn’t like that. He made training sessons slightly harder. And then Mikey dropped all pretense and beat his ass by performing some new, very difficult katas with perfect ease and grace, and Leo’s face never blushed so hard. Donnie did not hide his smug giggle, and he got a smack on the head from Raph. It didn’t hurt, though.

They went on a meditation retreat to the farmhouse for a week. Donnie watched as Mikey, let off every leash, took death-defying leaps into the pond from the highest trees, rolled in the tallest grasses with Chompy and Ice Cream Kitty, scaled the barn three times and did flips off the roof. Once he got distracted by a sudden movement and landed wrong, spraining his wrist hard, but didn’t even cry, not until Donnie hit a sore spot while bandaging him, and after carefully following doctor’s orders, Mikey threw away the sling and sang to his left arm, sang to it, and somehow it healed even better.

Mikey was different, his masks had all fallen off but he made new masks, and after nightmares he would curl up into Raph, who welcomed him with grumbles and nuzzles, and his cooking became a little less utterly weird and a little more inclusive.

Donnie notices now that his own time spent holed up in his lab was always something different and he strives to try and stop, to remember what time it is, to come out and socialize and now there’s Mikey who’s pretty much in his head when he lets him. Mikey and April made a fascinating discovery about Dimension X physics and did a lot of research and a lot of wheedling at Agent Bishop. Mikey is now like April but not quite; Bishop calls them psionic siblings. Donnie has files now, some of them untranslatable sent from the Utrom Queen, about Mikey specifically, his brain’s connection to things beyond the world. Mikey just laughs when he makes his skateboard into a hoverboard and takes April on a ride.

Mikey promised not to touch the minds of his other brothers unless they were very loud or very focused, but it is useful in battle. The pranks have gotten sophisticated. They involve things floating. Mikey usually won’t stop until something hits him in the head, or from the inside; he’s having migraines now and they’re vicious, and if he overexerts his powers they will turn into seizures. Donnie carries a particular injectible in his medical bag all the time, lorepam, from Rockwell’s supply. Leo brews up bacopa tea. Raph teaches Mikey to channel his pain into action. Ice Cream Kitty makes a perfect cold compress.

There’s one battle in which Donnie is knocked unconscious, and immediately he falls into a colorful darkness of patterned numbers, spiderwebs of math and science equations, quantum mechanics darting like schools of fish across the back of his brain. When he comes to, a day later, his sight is full of summer blue eyes and orange cloth, and the voice in his head is like a feather, Donnie, Donnie, don’t talk yet, just say you can hear me okay?

And Mikey’s mind is always two hundred miles an hour but Donnie picks out the fear and worry and thinks at him, I can hear you, little brother, I’m okay. And the relief is tangible, like a warm weight in his arms, and the face disappears, and then he hears “Guys! Dee’s awake! He says he’s okay!” And Donnie can push through the pain to smile brightly at his brothers and Splinter and April and Casey, and Mikey touches his mind again, but this time it’s to soothe the pain, somehow, Donnie’s not sure how, and he means to ask later, but Leo is helping him drink water, and then he’s falling asleep again.

Sensei starts training Mikey to improve and control his psionic abilities and April joins in. Leo makes the two freckled blue-eyed teens promise to not prank anyone. They pretend to promise. Mikey is talking constantly about interconnections between the heart and the mind, and Raph sometimes gets fed up and covers his ears and goes to his room and plays his music. Leo just slips quietly into meditation. Donnie merely listens, and lets his brain calculate, seek patterns, make jumps.

Donnie makes notes constantly and sees the pattern as clear as anything. And the next time Mikey has a nightmare, Donnie senses it and comes to his room, holds him tightly, reminds him that he is here and loved. They don’t need words to say anything. They never did.

“It’s in the heart,” Mikey whispers, and touches the center of Donnie’s forehead, and Donnie grins and pulls him close. It’s in the heart.

[brightlotusmoon]

Anyway Happy ADHD Month 2021.

Dear TMNT Fandom,

Remind me, please, who here is autistic and writes Imagines and requests? I have a request for anyone who wants to try in their style.

"What if: Mikey has a nervous breakdown in front of Donnie, who figures out Mikey has had depression for a while. Not to mention ADHD RSD and autistic burnout. Autistic ADHD Reader can be involved in whatever capacity."

[brightlotusmoon]

Also, I'm pushing still to get fanfics away from the tired cliched stereotypes. Not just about the turtles each being on the spectrum, but Mikey's long standing stereotype class clown butt of the joke persona. He's far far deeper.

Most fanfics still make Mikey so jokey that he gets scolded and smacked constantly, and it takes away from the story. I know it's canon in 2003, but I always had Fremdscamen.

I had been wondering if I could send the same Ask to multiple imagines writers in the fandom to see their styles. I will probably write these anyway, but I genuinely like seeing how others handle the same concept.

"Oh, my requests are usually stuff like

"Mikey learning he has ADHD and it's eye-opening and he steals Donnie's Neuroscience textbooks, hyperfixates on learning about the brain, wonders how close to human his brain really is and how the mutagen affects him and wonders if he's also autistic and he diagnoses his brothers and stays up with Donnie or The Reader all night talking about brains while cooking."

or, I might ask

"Mikey gets badly injured on patrol and he's already separated from the team, and he's not sure if Don can track him so he meditates to try and reach someone with psychic powers he didn't know he had and then he passes out and eventually they find him and he's basically dying and it's a race to save his life in Donnie's new infirmary that was updated because of their new human contacts, yes he lives."

I could write these myself but I love seeing how other writers take the ideas."

See? It's complex and I am a coward.

[brightlotusmoon]

@ravn-87 @the-second-circle-of-shell would this mean I might have kicked off the start of a fandom trend or something? Because we all know how nerve wracking it is when you keep getting similar ideas and want to ask fandom writers to play with those ideas but you feel weird and obnoxious sending the same messages out to multiple fan writers...

I had been wondering if I could send the same Ask to multiple imagines writers in the fandom to see their styles. I will probably write these anyway, but I genuinely like seeing how others handle the same concept.

"Oh, my requests are usually stuff like

"Mikey learning he has ADHD and it's eye-opening and he steals Donnie's Neuroscience textbooks, hyperfixates on learning about the brain, wonders how close to human his brain really is and how the mutagen affects him and wonders if he's also autistic and he diagnoses his brothers and stays up with Donnie or The Reader all night talking about brains while cooking."

or, I might ask

"Mikey gets badly injured on patrol and he's already separated from the team, and he's not sure if Don can track him so he meditates to try and reach someone with psychic powers he didn't know he had and then he passes out and eventually they find him and he's basically dying and it's a race to save his life in Donnie's new infirmary that was updated because of their new human contacts, yes he lives."

I could write these myself but I love seeing how other writers take the ideas."

See? It's complex and I am a coward.