#tmnt silly mode mikey

[glazedmcguffin]

@non-rise-tmnt-au-competition

(I’m fine w/ this dw)

[tammyu-2]

HMMMM can i request 2012mikey dating headcannons 😁😁😁😁

Ask and you will receive

🫡

TMNT 2012 MIKEY DATING HCS

Usage of the pronoun she, one usage of y/n, swearing kinda, Mikey being adorable, nothing else.

Alot of ppl don't write for mickey yet he is the most loved one

You guys met at Mr. murakami's restaurant. You always preferred going to places at night because it was quieter and the scenery was nice.

Mr. Murakami had added these pizza pocket things to the menu, and you had to try it out. As they say, great minds think alike, and Mikey had the same idea. He had been tired of his brothers always eating all the takeout he got, so he decided to sneak out to go get some for himself. He then bumped into you.

The silence that followed after you guys locked eyes was so long that you would have thought you two were mute. Like you are mainly confused. Should you run? Should you be scared? Should you dap him up??

He is sitting here like,'What did Leo say you should do when you get spotted in public?'. He tried to act like a turtle but was unaware of what sounds a normal turtle makes because they are mainly quiet. So he stuck with:

"Turtle turtle"

"What the actual fuck-"

It was safe to say that it was a confusing start. You both were starving, tho so like you two shook hands, became friends, and ate pizza pockets together.

When you two became wore acquainted, he is absolutely CLUELESS on his crush on you. Like wdym yall are just homies. Like he just fw that much. At this point, the turtles know about you, so he blabs about you to them sooooo much.

"Oh y/n is coming around today."

"She was really sad today."

"Did you know she didn't know how to skate??"

"OH she actually is learning the guitar I like it's sorta badass."

"Mikey, oh my gosh, shut up about her! Do you like her or something??"

This comment has him thinking. Does he like you? He asks Donnie for help, and Dontron indeed confirms that Mikey has a romantic crush on you.

"Oh cool... what do I do about it?"

He knows what a crush is because Donnie is head over heals for april, but like, what now? This earns a sigh from Donnie as he dumbs down what a crush is to him, and Mikey goes full-on realization mode.

I don't think he would immediately tell you. I think he will just keep that information in mind but still make it very obvious cause he doesn't care. Like help you out and stuff. Complimenting how good you are at stuff. Sprouting out sentences that imply that he likes you.

"Yo! Your boots look absolutely fire today."

"I just finished the comic you told me about. It was sick!"

"You should probably get out of here dude the kraang is gonna bust the place, and I'd rather you not get hurt."

"You wanna go get some pizza pockets? Just you and me."

Like he would do this noticeably enough that his brothers have to bring it up. Like it's proper sibling etiquette. The classic "How's your girlfriend?" And "Dude, you're so in love with her!" Is to be expected.

Now, one day, he finds a roller skating park that's empty at night. He decided it would be the perfect opportunity to hand out with his favorite person. Also, to teach you how to skate.

He invited you, and you said yes. You guys go, and it's actually locked up at night. But you guys bypass the locks easily. He patiently helps you onto the bored as you pray that you don't somehow fall on your face or break something by just standing on the board with no gear except a helmet.

After a while of close calls and you two being silly, you could finally skate slowly ... with no ramps. Baby steps baby steps.

After a bit, you two sit on top of a ramp just talking about anything, really. Then Mikey confesses to you that he likes you. You say you like him back, and he's all like

"Cool cool cool nice awesome amazing sick fire totally nice."

Leave him alone it's his first time being this flustered. He usually isn't the one who would manage to get a partner in the first place.

When you two start dating, you guys become disgustingly cute. Like you guys take every opportunity to cuddle or just be physically close to one another. You both heavily touch starved. It's like you two read comics together with you up to his plastron with one of his arms wrapped around you and the other holding his comic.

You introduce him to your favorite cartoons and things and you guys have date nights where you two get alot of pizza and sweets and junk food and watch your favorite series that you had non stop thinking about in that week.

You're not allowed the battlefield mostly because Leo says this, but yeah. So, during a fight, Mikey likes to talk about you. He's clingy, is what I'm saying. He could write an essay if he had the attention span and the vocabulary.

But over all he loves youuuu. Like he really fw you. You're the type to bounce off each other's energy and match each other's vibe. It's cute but annoying for others. Poor raph....

Hope you enjoyed it. I hope you liked it. This was super cute to write. I liked it. :>

But that's all from me toodles

~Tammy<3

[k0nv4l10]

Annoying tropes that made me drop fanfics (tmnt edition)

‼️MY OPINION‼️

03/12 Raphael is an abusive brother

All Mikeys are innocent crybabies who can't do nothing wrong, or express any amotions, except sad/happy/scared

Rise Splinter is the worst father of the century

Rise Donnie in his "crazy scientist mode" 24/7

03/12 Mikey being abused

03 Leo being an edgy bitch 24/7

Rise Leo using his jokes ONLY like coping mechanism, and not bc he's just a silly lil guy

03/12/87 turtles being scared by rise turtles

12 Splinter hates his children

Any of the turtles acting like an assholes, and then their actions being justified bc ✨TrAuMa✨

What the solution to those problems? REWATCHING. THE. SHOWS.

Like, literally, whenever you'll think about any of those tropes, just rewatch the show, and see how their relationship really are, it's not that difficult. :)

Plus, it's just nice to revisit our little turtle guys isn't it? 🐢❤️💙💜🧡

[side-shuffling-hyperfixations]

TMNT - 2 Tbsp. of Tenderness, 5 tsp. of Hope

Summary: Mikey's Valentine's Day preparations end up being more bittersweet than he anticipated.

Getting all of his brothers out of the lair at the same time without him, without getting suspicious and for a stretch of time long enough to achieve his goals was easier said than done.

On a good day (meaning a bad day in terms of the crime rate, a good day in terms of kicking butt opportunities) patrol could take a solid five hours but that kind of came with the expectation that Mikey would go along. He could have feigned a cough to get out of it but then Donnie would insist on staying to give him a thorough checkup (boo) and then Leo would feel compelled to stay to hover and dote on him (aww) and then Raph would…well, he’d probably still go, claiming he shouldn’t have to miss out on busting heads because of Mikey’s problems, but sooner or later he would return with half a pharmacy’s worth of cough syrup and maybe even a new comic to keep Mikey occupied while he got better (double aww). And if Raph were to find out he’d gone out of his way to procure these things when Mikey didn’t actually need them, he probably wouldn’t see a new comic until he was thirty. That would leave a lot of issues to catch up on.

Not to mention the more pressing issue: he still wouldn’t get the chance to pull their surprise together. Faking a cold wasn’t enough. This would require a round of keep-away with multiple layers of forethought and strategy, which…admittedly wasn’t always his strong suit but that’s why video games invented multiplayer mode!

Master Splinter was surprised but pleased by his suggestion, citing it as a “vast improvement” on his plan from last year, which—duh. Last year’s idea to prove that pranks were an official love language hadn’t even been given a chance at life! Mikey had gotten his hands on gallons of pink glitter and a dozen canisters of silly string, only for his omniscient father to give him the infamously stern stink eye in advance, which instantly clued his brothers in that he was up to something. Big brother bops upside the head were apparently a love language too because that was the only gift he got that day. Hip-hip-hooray, just what he always wanted, they all knew him so well.

Honestly, after he ratted him out (do not laugh at the forbidden pun, Mikey) last year, Mikey was being pretty generous letting Master Splinter in on this year’s efforts but the wheels were actually in motion this time. That was indeed a step up, because their father knew the rest of them pretty well too. His all-seeing eye had picked up more than just imminent pranks over the years—namely, all the ways his brothers’ actual love languages could be manipulated and exploited and turned against them to suit Mikey’s purposes.

That sounded a lot better in his head. To suit Mikey’s also very loving, heartfelt purposes!

Introvert though he may be, Leo was also an old soul, and old souls were always age-old suckers for some deep Quality Time, especially one-on-one. Master Splinter would take him out to a nice thinking spot overlooking the park where he could talk the talk at great length about Master Yoshi and Japan and wise proverbs and all that juicy jazz. Leo being Leo, he would hang on every word like Klunk on the curtains. Mikey just had to hope they wouldn’t get so deep into the convo that they forgot to come back eventually.

When he and Splinter let April in on the plan, she thought it was really sweet, which—double duh. Was Mikey not obviously the sweetest one? Her part was to pull some overcomplicated tech stunt to break her TV—and just when she was planning a romantic movie night with Casey, oh, nooo, what terrible timing! When you need an overcomplicated tech stunt to repair the one you pulled off, who you gonna call? Why, Do-It-All-For-You-Donnie, of course! Mr. Acts of Service himself! You’ve got a friend in me~!

Even Casey was in on it, considering he deserved an explanation for the delay of the aforementioned romantic movie night, and he was eager to shoot his shot at being helpful. It was a straight shot, couldn’t possibly miss. Raph, ever the rough and tumbly, would get a heaping helping of his favorite thing, Physical Touch, through a game of slam hockey—and if he showed any signs that he was getting sick of it, Casey knew all the most irritating things to say to goad him into another round. (That much Mikey had full confidence in; it was something he and Casey had in common.)

Mikey couldn’t even remember the last time he and Klunk had the lair entirely to themselves. Free reign to wreak havoc of the most wholesome variety!

It didn’t take long for all available nooks and crannies on the kitchen counters—and most of the dining room table—to be pulled into the process. He was notoriously loath to do the dishes but try as he might to do Future Mikey a favor and dirty as few of them as possible, Present Mikey always seemed to end up with two or three or maybe twelve more taste testing spoons than he had anticipated over the course of his work.

Although that could technically be construed as his brothers’ fault for having such diverse tastes to test, he mused as he stuck his tongue out to catch some sugary cloud particles kicked up by two heaping cups of powdered sugar—and then another tablespoon for good measure. Donnie wouldn’t complain. In fact he might not even notice if it failed to breach the layers of sugar rot that had already tainted his taste buds forever, courtesy of the totally-top-secret stash of candy he hoarded in his so-called “specimen jars”. Maybe in a surprise twist he was the stealthiest ninja of them all (watch out for the quiet ones) because Leo and Raph somehow remained oblivious to his hiding spot and ended up blaming Mikey whenever the good candy went missing before they could get their hands on it. For that injustice—and to buy his silence—Don had recently compensated him with twenty bucks.

Mikey had spent that twenty and much more on the ingredients for today so it better be enough to make a dent in Donnie’s sweet tooth. To that end he considered for a moment and added another two tablespoons until the powdered sugar coalesced into a sort of Play-Doh consistency, into which he could pack the heaps of maraschino cherries that had been sitting by on a paper towel. It was like rolling dozens of miniature snowballs, soft and light until submerged in a mix of melted milk and dark chocolate. That was where the original recipe would have ended but Mikey went out of his way to roll them again in a swathe of diced almonds to satisfy Don’s recently acquired craving for a satisfying crunch somewhere in his meals.

“Recently acquired” meaning not long after that whole…second mutation biz.

It was just a new food preference, nothing to be overconcerned about. Just…something Mikey noticed, as de facto chef. As long as it was diced almonds and not his leg, he was cool with it! This new normal, this new recipe for Don. A bleeding heart wrapped up in a soft center, pulled down by the dark to resurface as something with a thicker shell. A little harder, a little sharper, a little more bite but when you cracked into him, at his core he was the same sweetheart as always.

And that was the kind of roundabout metaphor that would earn him an odd look (and had already, considering the puzzled mew and flick of the tail he got from Klunk, who had sensed some kind of shift even from his perch on the back of the couch) so Mikey didn’t dwell on it, adding an impromptu third roll of the cordials in some rainbow sprinkles to lighten everything up.

Raph’s tastes were pretty characteristic too: extra dark chocolate and mint extracts and oils added to taste. In Raph terms, “to taste” was enough to make anyone else’s throat burn and eyes water. The first few—handful of—well, the first several times Mikey had made these chocolates, Raph didn’t hesitate for a second to look a gift turtle in the mouth and complain that it didn’t pack enough punch. By the time the ratio of extract to essential oil had been finessed to his satisfaction, the filling could have been advertised as a two-in-one toothpaste and mouthwash.

A net loss for Don, who had learned the hard way not to sneak any of those sweets into his stash—but a net gain for Mikey! Raph’s stink breath, often aimed in his direction by way of Grumpy Gus growling, did indeed get a little fresher! And he was less likely to growl at him any more than necessary if Mikey tossed a bag of these babies onto his pillow as a peace offering after one of their spats. He’d heard from April that fancy hotels would leave a mint on someone’s pillow to sweeten up their deal. Why stop at one? When it came to winning Raph’s favor, more was always better.

So why had it been so long since Mikey last made them? Raph probably could have used small comforts like these over the course of…everything, all the things that had happened to stress him out and piss him off and leave him in a lurch. To be fair they were all pretty deep in that same lurch for a while, trying to pull themselves back together while Leo just kept falling further apart, further away. Whenever they couldn’t pick themselves up, Raph had always been strong enough and stubborn enough to grab ahold and haul them up, no matter what it took. When Leo just kept pulling away, when he was eventually sent away, so far out of reach, Raph had taken it pretty hard.

Mikey had too, obviously. Well, no, not obviously, because he had done his best not to let it show. Raph obviously had the anger covered. Don had denial, still persistently looking to Leo even though he knew he wasn’t there, while Master Splinter had his quiet sorrow and Mikey…had it covered. They couldn’t all be stewing or fretting or moping. He was convinced that someone had to maintain a sense of normalcy so Leo would actually find something recognizable when he came back. (He wouldn’t anyway, what with Karai and her cronies turning the lair and their lives upside down, but he couldn’t have known that at the time.)

Making cheer-up chocolates for Raph would have forced Mikey to acknowledge just how wrong everything felt, how wrong it had felt for so long by then. So…maybe Don wasn’t the only one in denial. Maybe Mikey hadn’t done very well by Raph then, failing to make that effort, failing to reach out with a pick-me-up (however small) when he was down, as Raph so often reached out to all of them in his own way.

Or maybe Raph would have seen right through it and it wouldn’t have helped at all. But he could have tried. More was always better with him. Anything would have been better than nothing.

…Geez, this dark chocolate was getting a little too dark for him to work with. Time to sweeten it up with a little condensed milk and honey. Cause that was Raph at the end of the day too, wasn’t it? Mikey realized with a faint chuckle as he watched the dash of honey spread in satisfying ribbons. The ones who didn’t balk and recoil at their first taste of him, the ones who stuck around long enough to get past the bitterness, eventually they’d catch a hint here and there of warmth like gold.

With Raph’s mint chocolate cups patiently tempered (there was irony for you), molded and now setting, he could focus on Leo. Funny how his recipe was the simplest but Mikey was only just getting to it now…What was it a wise man said, “the first shall be last” and all?

That happened to Leo a lot. Putting the others first. Mikey had pointed that out to Raph and Donnie himself and here he was doing it again by habit.

He was just saving the best for last, he reminded himself as he shuffled through mini-muffin liners. Between Don’s no-show, no-share policy and Raph’s extract overload, these chocolates were the ones he could actually eat too. Even if they were a gift, Leo wouldn’t mind if he snagged a few. When it came to benign, inconsequential everyday things like this, he could rarely ever say no to him.

Always, always putting the others first. That was Leo’s every day and what did his aimless train of thought call it? “Inconsequential”?

Okay, hold up.

Mikey dropped his utensils with a clatter, gripped the edge of the kitchen counter and took a nice, calming breath. It wasn’t actually all that nice; the permeating mint made his throat catch and put pressure behind his eyes, as did the welling frustration. Whatever funk had built up in his headspace since the others’ departure, he needed to boot it out of the lair with them, ASAP.

This was supposed to be a good thing. This was a happy thing, a surprise to remind his bros how much he loved them! It wasn’t supposed to get him all worked up; it wasn’t that deep.

Wasn’t it, though?

Some days, special days, he and Donnie could talk. Deep talks they couldn’t have with Leo and Raph, the kind Leo and Raph couldn’t have with them. They’d sit on a rooftop and talk about…anything. Fears, dreams, wishes they would have made on the stars if their luck was ever kind, and Don would soften and lean on him and the cool breeze would whisper trust, peace, quiet, and it always stayed between them.

Some days, rare days, he’d get a hug from Raph—not just a squeeze over the shoulders from alongside him, not a fake-out that ended in a surprise swat to the head, a jab to the ribs or a teasing tug of his mask tails—but a real full-body hug, and that golden warmth would pour into him, radiating safe, safe, safe deep down to his bones and he never wanted to let go.

Some days, priceless days, he’d find just the right words to make Leo actually laugh out loud. Mikey could count the occasions on one hand but watching the stoicism and stress melt away and knowing he’d done something for Leo, for once, set off starbursts of pure, simple joy, joy, joy and they’d share a deep belly laughing fit until everything ached and they were both in tears because they didn’t want it to end.

Some days, any average day, he could look around at them just going about their business and love would bubble up and curl around his heart and squeeze with such ferocious familial force that it felt like it would burst. It was that deep. And then, inevitably, his head had to ruin it by reminding him of the last time—the last dozen times he thought any of them could have been ripped away from him. And they still could be.

(And they probably would be, one day.)

He couldn’t let that happen without them knowing beyond the shadow of a doubt how loved they really were.

When something warm brushed his leg, Mikey couldn’t help but startle. He hadn’t even noticed Klunk’s approach until he was winding between his ankles, nuzzling his head against his shin with a soothing purr. It was grounding.

Whatever could happen one day wasn’t happening today. Right now he was home with his little buddy, his brothers were safe with people who cared about them just as much as Mikey did, and he still had work to do.

Homemade or not, chocolate couldn’t hold a candle to everything his brothers did for him, everything he wished he could say…but it was something. An honest effort, however small.

You don’t have to make yourself less important or less happy for our sakes. You make me happy already. I love you.

You don’t have to keep pretending to be strong when you’re sad. I want you to be happy again too. I love you.

You don’t have to hide the good things away to deserve them. You deserve to be happy. I love you.

The good, the bad, the weird, the ugly, any of it. All of it. I love you.

“Ah, shell. I don’t think any of these recipes called for see salt,” he muttered with a halfhearted chuckle as he scrubbed the back of a chocolate-stained hand over the stray tears slipping free. “Guess they call for a whole lotta sap though…and a whooole lotta hazelnuts that aren’t going to skin, roast and chop themselves.” Klunk mewed, pawing at his toes. “Yeah, yeah, you’ll get a couple too, once they’re kibble-sized—but just a couple, if I want Leo to get his two trays’ worth. The things I do for love.”

[phykoha]

*Comes speeding over*

YOU CALLED?

Brah love the art. Honestly gotta say I'm a big fan truly. Your AUs are some of my favorites! Though I'm guilty of being here to ask about the Rise into the Spiderverse Raph venom and his brothers.

Idk very much about the au fandom myself tbh. Though what are your thoughts on it? Would they still be the Mad Dog Group or possible frenemies? Considering straight off the bat that Venom and Spiderman are actual enemies in the comics/cartoons. Soooo Spider Mikey and Venom Raph are they still brothers or has Venom affected Raph's psychie at all making him go Savage Raph and go on a rampage? Also! I had suggested Deadpool Leo and Doc Octo Donnie for the Spiderverse AU because honestly I felt those two fitted the twins fairly well.

Donnie with his tech and the whole mechanical limbs bit felt perfect considering his battle shell in the show already has a pair. Also the fact that I swear to God Donatello is like on the verge of being a mad scientist anyways half the time(majority of the time). Nuclear Power!!!

Leo who -my god dude stop trying to get yourself killed- already has danced on the lines of life and death -multiple times- would be perfect for Deadpool aside from the overall similarities in personalities and that damn punny humor. Also the fact that Deadpool uses katanas, Leo uses an odachi(though to be fair in the other TMNT verses Leo's primary weapons are always katanas).

Anyways—

Let me know what you think! Do you think that would be the case for Leo and Donnie in the ROSTV!

Thank you for listening to my rambling and I hope you have a great day.

GDKFJJF gonna start off by saying Donnie IS Doc Ock! At least in Spider Mikey's world. I have a post showing off his concept design and talking about him in the AU tag if you'd like to see it :) (I'd link it myself but I'm at work gdjfjsf)

I also said this in another ask that I could make Leo Deadpool in a timeline variant, but I'll probably keep him pretty normal in the base/main timeline (that being Spider Mikey).

The turtles are still brothers and are very close. They wouldn't really know each others identities, so at first, it wouldn't effect their relationships. (This does not apply to Doc Donnie. Everyone knows it's him hdjfjdj not that hard to know when he's not concealing his face.)

I'd say that like. Half the time that Venom takes over, Raph is in a similar state to his Savage Mode™️. But he doesn't have much control over their body at that point anyway, so all it does is align their "destroy break smash kill" mentalities.

I see a fight between Spider Mikey and Venom Raph in my head, where VR has no idea that Spider-Man is Mikey. Even to the bitter end... (Wink wink Venom kills Spider-Man and then takes off his mask and Raph has to grapple with the fact that he killed his little brother haha so silly)

[starrcrossrose]

Hello. :)

I’ve been reading your TMNT story “ Aftermath”, and I just have to tell you how hard it hit me.. You are such an incredible writer, so much so that the pain and stress of the characters really left an imprint on me.. It truly resonated with me because i have actually been going through a really hard time mentally lately. I’ve been in “ danger mode “ when my adrenaline is turned up every day for the past week.. My dads been sick and it’s been getting worse and I’ve just been so worried. God has him in His hands. But the fear of losing him was still there.. My dads going to be ok, probably get antibiotics and he’ll be fine, but the horrible fear that grips my heart remained despite the obvious fact that he was ok. That he is going to be fine.

And then I just read your chapter about Mikey snapping at Leo.. Bursting into angry tears about how scared he was.. How afraid he is of losing his family. And I’ve been fighting that fear this past week.. Even with his brother there in front of him, ( just like my dad still being alive and well ), he still felt so scared and stressed.. And I’ve felt the same way.. God is teaching me to trust in Him through it, but it’s still been so very hard.

You truly are an amazing writer and I thank you for being so raw and unrelenting with all the feelings of stress, PTSD, trauma, and so much more..

I hope this message encourages you. Thank you for your story. I truly know it was Gods timing for me to read it tonight.

~ Melissa

OUGH OHHH. WOW. THIS IS —

Hey so, ironically, I think I was meant to get this message from you today. As creatives tend to, I’ve been doubting my ability lately and fighting off the beginning stages of burn out by resting. Sometimes I wonder if anything I write is worth it. But then I’m reminded that my writing HAS reached people and it HAS left an impact.

Im so sorry to hear about your dad; I kinda get where you’re coming from. My dad spent all of last year in and out of the hospital for various awful reasons and had several close calls, so I know how hard certain situations can be. But trusting in God is important in moments like this. It’s hard and scary and people can react to trauma and loss in various ways. I believe all feelings are valid and should be felt in order to heal and move on. My dad is doing okay right now but that fear that something could go wrong at any time is… not great. I’ll have you in my thoughts and prayers 💖

I’m glad my silly turtle story can offer anything to its readers. Thank you so much for reading and for sending this message 💖 I’m hoping to have an update soon.

[wonderingpanda]

Okay so uh my brain did a silly and I’m so sorry but for the Girls Team meets 2012!TMNT can it be romantic somehow, I’m not sure how you’d manage it but maybe separate HCs/Scenarios?

Again super super sorry my brain likes to go people pleaser mode even online :<

Relationships and Dynamics

I decided to give each girl 2 different sets of headcanons. The first being how they are in a platonic relationship and the other being how they are in a romantic relationship. I hope you enjoy.

Leo and Gina

Training together all the time

It’s almost like a rivalry where they both want to take charge and make all the decisions

Definitely fighting for who gets to say the heroic leader lines

Lots of playful banter, especially when in battle

When they first met it was like an ongoing war to prove who was the better leader

Leo’s also pretty insecure and is always showing off his fighting skills in hopes he’ll impress Gina and maybe earn some praise

Secretly, she’s almost like a big sister for him which is new as he’s never really had an older sibling to look up to, only Splinter

In the end Leo accepts the fact that they’re both great leaders and enjoys working by her side

Leo and Sadie

Leo is very bold in comparison to Sadie

They match each other in skills and tactics, having similar ideas and logic to each other

They enjoy meditating together as it brings out a similar calm that the two both enjoy

There are plenty of times where Sadie will have gotten herself in a rough situation and find herself in need of Leo’s help

He definitely roped her into watching space heroes with him

They’re just two dorks having fun loving each other

Raph and Mira

He’s pretty aggressive at first and doesn’t exactly trust her (who can blame him)

But, after some forced friendly bonding, the two eventually get more comfortable with each other

Soon enough they’re basically each others therapists

Due to their equally forceful fighting styles it’s easy for the two to work through their anger by sparring together

Will rant to each other constantly

Are always looking out for each other during fights

If one of them is in danger the other is ready run in and kick ass

Raph and Gina

Raph and Gina are an interesting pair to say the least

They fight a lot which is mainly caused by their clashing views

However, ultimately they ended up having feelings for each other which neither could really accept

But after some time it just happened

Gina will typically be very teasing towards Raph while he goes off at her like an angry bird on steroids

But they enjoy each others company and are glad to be together knowing that they’re an unstoppable duo in combat

Donnie and Sadie

As the two smartest people out of both teams it only makes sense that they would get along easily

Instantly clicked over the most random topics that none of the others could understand

An intellectual power duo undoubtedly

Definitely have cute moments of exchanging gadgets and geeking out together

Maybe even a time where Donnie tries on Sadie’s glasses and she tries on his goggles

Neither exactly fit but it was worth a shot

Many explosions are bound to occur when the two are within five feet of each other

No one is safe

Donnie and Lia

Their relationship first began when Donnie noticed the potions Lia used in combat

Lia doesn’t really understand the science behind them but has a system to know how to use them

But when Donnie noticed their abilities he wanted to spend every moment studying them and their chemical properties

Donnie, being Donnie, was very awkward in discovering his feelings while Lia just lived with it

Donnie’s mainly the brains of the two while Lia adds her chaotic, impulsive nature

They’re both very expressive and make their feelings pretty obvious

But they can both be completely oblivious which prevents them from taking things a step further

Thankfully with a little push from their siblings the two got together although it was a painfully long process

Mikey and Lia

What happens when you put a loose canon with a crackhead? Pure, utter chaos

The second they met it was like fireworks colliding in the sky and then raining fiery ashes upon an unsuspecting city

There is not a moment of peace I promise you that

Both are extremely affectionate with each other and have a similar habit of suffocating people via hug

They’ll also generally confide in one another during difficult times with their respective families

The two really do make an incredible team, especially when it comes to pranks

No water balloon shall go un-thrown

Mikey and Mira

These two are a prime example of opposites attract

We’ve all seen the girls Mikey has crushed on previously, he likes someone fierce and strong like Mira

She holds him down when he becomes too much and he loosens her up when she’s being too uptight

They balance each other out, and while Mira may be cold to him at first it’s simply her way of hiding how much she adores him

Hope you enjoyed reading! Please have an amazing day/night wherever you may be!✨

[tmnt-reticent]

The sillies‼️‼️‼️

Ret!Raph casually being terrified of bugs but refusing to admit it- Ret!Mikey is done with his twin’s crap, they’re just little guys‼️‼️

Ret!Don is just as scared as Ret!Raph hvghgvghjgh he’s just trying to be polite

Ret!April is the oldest of the group so girl is just going FULL big sister mode with TCG!April ghgjbvghjbh-

We’re about 20/80 on the poll so please vote for Reticent and The Children’s Garden in the @non-rise-tmnt-au-competition so we can tie with Teenage Turtle Ninja Mutants‼️‼️ idk I just think us collecting iterations is funny (also TTNM is very cool so‼️‼️‼️)

The Children’s Garden belongs to @nakanemiya ‼️‼️💖💖💖🫶🫶🫶

[lady-maria-the-wolf225]

The boys if they had their favorite dance styles:

Ballet and ballroom dance: these two dance styles are very elegent and very fitting for Leo. He would enjoy waltzing around the lair with his female partner or seeing her dancing around him in a ballet session as the soft soothing song echoes throughout the sewer walls and makes him smile as he dances along. 😁

Tango and Salsa: two different spanish dance styles. One that is slow and sexy, while the other is energetic and fun. Raph would lift and spin his partner around enjoying the beat of the music. Plus, he would only dance when his brothers aren't even around. There's always that one guy who prefers to dance privately. 😜

Tap Dance and Disco: just imagine Donnie tapping his feet with some tap dancing shoes he made from his lab, or dancing disco with a disco ball spinning in the middle of the lair while playing michael jackson and other types of disco songs he can think of. It would seem a bit silly to his brothers, but if he were to do any of those two dance styles with his female partner, he would go all out showing his moves.🎼

Hip Hop and Swing: the energy of these two dance styles would rock any woman's socks off when the one and only Mikey would show off his moves. With a partner, he would have a lot of fun, and wouldn't get tired every minute of it at all! He would put on some up beat music to set up the mode, and he would sometimes act like Elvis Presley when his songs come on. 😍

@memes-in-a-half-shell @the-second-circle-of-shell @selfless1978 @kokokatsworld @tmntspidergirl @tmnt-fangirl101 @tmnt-would2 @michelangelo-ornge-partydude @donnie-duz-machines @donnies-icing @donnie9000

[imma-lil-teapot]

TMNT 2003/2k3 Headcanon: Crying - (Leonardo)

Feel free to scroll past this first part if you’re not interested in my silly rambling and nonsense. I won’t mind. Promise. ;)

Okey-dokey then, with the global epidemic that is the Coronavirus well in action and most of the world stuck in lockdown (starting this Friday for us too), felt like getting the ‘ol creative juices flowing with a little headcanon-y thingy in preparation for -possibly- more fandom writings to keep myself busy during the house arrest (well... it kinda is!) and hopefully my mind off all the bad news. :( 

Also, this is totally my first one on the blog! WOOT! Please bear in mind that I’m SUPER rusty! Haven’t written in ages so there are bound to be typos and all matter of general errors scattered throughout the post. Don’t pet them! They bite!  

Anyhoo~ Despite attempting to create and share with the goal in mind to uplift spirits, I decided to start on a rather upsetting subject (PLEASE DON’T LEAVE! They end on happy notes ;) ) because, Imma just come and say it, I enjoy seeing my favourite characters shed tears (not for just any old reason -their personality plays a huge role in this- and CERTAINLY not for sadistic reasons, land sakes no! But... well, you’ll see~ ;) ) It makes me all gooey and fuzzy inside to see them display such raw emotion and I just wanna leap into the TV screen to hug and console them. I dunno why. Maybe I’m nuts like that. (Remembers Raph crying at the farm when Leo was badly injured and wishes she could just hug them all and take away the pain) Oh well, if you enjoy visualizing the same, then *High Fives*. :)

So yeah, if you read the title, you’ll know this is based on the 2003/2k3 series (my favs). Hope you all enjoy~ :D Grab tissues cause sad turts ahead! :’(

Jibber jabber stops here~

TURTLES~

LEONARDO - You are here

RAPHAEL

DONATELLO - Coming soon

MICHELANGELO - Coming soon

WARNING(S): Because of the subject, Angst and Hurt/Comfort will be present.

RATING: G (General)

WORD COUNT: Don’t have the foggiest.

ANYTHING ELSE TO ADD:

And apparently gifs too, so without further ado: (Completely unintentional but in actuality, totally intentional rhyming)...

TO THE HEADCANONS~~~~

~LEONARDO~

-- It’s no easy feat to make the leader in blue turn on the waterworks. Leo won’t cry for any old reason. It’s not because he has no emotions, far from it, but being the leader of a small ninja clan -who happen to be family as well- is no easy task in itself: he has a lot on his young shoulders and deals with many issues on a daily basis few his age ever have to.

-- It’s because of these reasons that Leo doesn’t cry often. One of the lesser likely to out of the four brothers. But when he does, it’s an emotionally distressing sight to behold. 

-- Leo tends to cry whenever those closest to him -namely his brothers, his father/master and truest friends- are severely injured or are in a dire situation. Remember his angry/moody arc? The thought of losing any of them causes him great pain and distress, especially if he were the cause of any of it, and when that happens, he can’t stop the dampness that forms around his eyes and soaks into his mask. 

-- He’s not fond of crying, especially in front of others, even though he fully comprehends its normalcy. He feels he needs to be everyone’s rock, their fortress of physical and emotional stability to turn to for strength when things get rough... So when the tears start to fall, he feels he can’t show them, can’t allow them to watch him crumble under the gripling weight of helplessness and anguish.

-- He frantically wipes at his eyes and desperately attempts not to sniffle, but it’s a hopeless battle, for his tears are already a steady stream. 

-- He’ll try to hide when possible, usually retreating to his room to allow the worst of the emotions to spill over before returning to the others... Though he may be in there a while: when Leo lets his emotions go, it can be just as powerful as his red-banded brother’s rage. 

-- He spares no time in making sure the coast is clear for the tears are already streaming by the time he reaches his futon, and there’s no stopping them now as he lets himself drop to his knees, only halfway onto the mattress. He purposefully leaves the room unlit, cloaking his form in the darkness. 

-- He sniffs a few times as he shuffles up against the wall, sitting upright against it, bringing his legs up and hugging them loosely and droops his head against a single knee pad. 

-- His voice desperately wishes to escape. To express its misery. But he won’t allow it to, often placing one hand over his face in a bid to quell the sadness and remain silent in the battle against his own inner turmoil. He refuses to let anyone see him in that state of utter sorrow and vulnerability.

-- He whimpers ever so slightly and coughs a few times as breathing becomes difficult. He knows this episode won’t be over any time soon. Fortunately, he keeps some tissues next to his bed for such rare occasions and tries not to blow too loudly. He thinks back to the last time he cried so hard... It’s been a while. It felt like a build up. 

-- Time has been forgotten as he’s lost in deep thought. By the time he slips a hand across his eyes, only the material of his mask is still slightly damp. He clears his nostrils a couple of times before considering whether he was ready to return to his family. He’d of course straighten up his bedding beforehand, and would also require a trip to the bathroom to wash his face. A true ninja leaves no evidence. 

-- Leo tries to put the horrifying images out of head before leaving his quarters. He doesn’t wish to be weighed down again and thus maybe cause his emotions to come out a second time. He knew someone would catch on that time. Instead, he holds his head up high, focusing on the there and now to carry him forward.  

BONUS EXTRA~

-- Failure is also one of his greatest foes. Leo despises it, but not in the irrational sense; he fully comprehends that in order to grow, one has to lose in order to learn and thus, succeed in turn, and while it can frustrate him when he’s unsuccessful at mastering a martial arts technique for example, he understanders it’s part of the process and that no one’s perfect. 

-- It’s when his slipups could spell casualties or death to his family and/or friends is when it weighs down on him like a boulder strapped to his shell. 

-- A really big one. 

-- And it hurts. So much so that it causes him to become despondent and often teary-eyed when no one’s looking.

-- Boi Bloo might also cry from especially sad movie scenes. He gets seriously into the story, and when the scene is just right -perfect music, perfect timing etc.- you may just catch Fearless with watery eyes. 

-- He can’t help it. After all, he’s a leader, and very caring and kind-hearted individual, so movies showing children or anyone/anything defenceless getting hurt has him not only visibly upset, but also angry at the cause. He’s a softie like that. 

-- He won’t have a meltdown, of course, but the tears are definitely there. Just don’t tease him too much; he’s easily embarrassed by it. ;) 

BONUS EXTRA EXTRA FEMALE READER OR S/O EDITION~ (Can also use an OC/FC insert if you wish, up to you)

You had figured something was up by the time you’d finished greeting everyone in the Splinterson household except for the Turtle you’d long to see most and he hadn’t made his presence yet known. 

The idea that he must’ve been practicing or meditating swiftly vanished when Mikey told you he’d been in his room in the dark for the past few hours. “The guy hardly ever naps, and even so, never this long.” He’d told you. “I dunno, (Y/N), we were about to check on ‘im when you arrived, but maybe you should be the one to. Think he’d really appreciate it.” And there was absolutely no argument from your side as you were already making your way up to the room.

You didn’t know what to expect as you neared the doorway. Could he possibly still just be sleeping? Meditating in the dark instead of his usual spot by the training area? Or... was he sick? The latter now had you concerned and you picked up your pace... Only to pause mid step when an unmistakable sound reached your ears: a sniffle.

Had it come from within his room? It was the only logical explanation as everyone else was downstairs. You were truly perturbed now as you stood outside the doorway and called out the ‘eldest’ Turtle’s name.

There was some shuffling to be heard but you were unable to tell for sure what he was doing -probably trying to neaten up his bed- “(Y/N)? Just a second, okay?” he responded in a rather awkward verging on frantic tone, and you were certain you heard another sniffle escape him. 

That, along with the way he’d replied really didn’t help to put your mind at ease. “Leo, are you alright?” Nor was the pitch blackness in which he remained concealed in.

“Yeah, just... l-looking for something.” There was some more shuffling as if to prove his point, but you were having none of it.

“Then maybe this,” you began, turning around to flick the light switch, “will help?”

“No! Wait!” But it was a split second too late for as soon the brightness illuminated the entire room, you had caught the telltale signs of an emotional meltdown in progress plastered on his face before he quickly turned away and briskly wiped an arm across his face, attempting to hide the shame... or perhaps embarrassment? 

“Leo...?” your heart and voice softened, “Hey, what’s wrong?” You automatically walked to him, closing the gap he was now trying to form. 

“Nothing,” he lied, and acknowledged it was a fruitless attempt but still couldn’t stop himself. Autopilot panic mode was enabled now. “It’s nothing.” 

Unfortunately for him, autopilot mother hen mode was activated for you as you reached with both hands to his carapace and shoulder, gently turning him to face you. “I can see that it’s something.” Your words were gentle, and you wanted nothing more than to take away his pain. “Look at me, Honey.” His body was turned but his head remained to the side. It was clear he didn’t want his obvious distress on display, even to you. “Please, Leo?” You tried again, and slowly but surely, his eyes met yours, and you felt your heart sink further.

The fabric of his mask was wet and eyes were still red with fresh tears that threatened to fall. He appeared so broken and helpless as he stared at you, and even though he uttered no words, you could practically hear him despairingly ask “Is this what you wanted? To see me at my lowest?” from his expression alone. 

Never had you witnessed the leader of this band of mutant brothers cry. At times you had wondered if he ever did, and yet here he was; the incredible pillar of strength and dignity you had come to know and adore, in tears and so dejected that you couldn’t stop your own eyes from becoming damp the more you gazed at him. “Oh, Sweety...” You whispered as you felt your soul shatter. It was too much to bear. You slowly wrapped your arms around him, one around the midsection and the other over his shoulder, and buried your face into his leathery neck, offering every ounce of comfort you could muster.

It didn’t take him long at all to sink into the embrace and return the action. Beyond the point of concerning himself with showing the pain he felt -or the wetness now soaking into your shoulder when he placed his forehead against it- he sniffed and finally allowed the tears to fall once again as fresh waves of emotion surged throughout his body.

And this time, he couldn’t keep the whimpering to himself.

“Shh~ It’s okay, it’s okay,” you soothed, lightly patting and rubbing along the scutes of his shell as he weakly sobbed, finally letting go of all the sadness that gripped him. 

You weren’t even aware of what was wrong, and you most likely wouldn’t find out til later once he calmed down, but right now, he just needed you to hold him. Hold him until the hurt was gone... And so you would. 

AND THAT’S ALL SHE WROTE!

ALL THE FEELS!! I EMBARRASS!!

OMGosh, this turned into a monster! The mother of all HCs!! :O No seriously, this wasn’t meant to be this long! I was suppose to squish all four into one itty bitty little post, but then it just grew... and grew... and GREW! Personally, I blame the Reader Bonus but I’d be damned if I didn’t enjoy writing it! ;P You guys here on Tumblr got me slightly addicted to them and have wanted to attempt some myself so... Anyhoo~ I can’t really say if I’m entirely content with the whole thing, I dunno. I feel some parts are better than others (writing style-wise) but yeah, I really need to get back into the swing of things...

Speaking of which, I DO plan on adding my two cents on the other bois as well, but judging by how this one turned out, they’ll most likely all be this length, more or less, so each Turt will get his own post so I can really jot down those details with all the freedom in the world! That being said, I can’t say when they’ll be added but hopefully soon-ish. :) Raph's next on the list!

Thank you all so much for the read and hope you enjoyed~ :D

~Drag0n Mistr3ss’ Random Fandoms*

[musette-thornsong]

Latest TMNT Lover Dream

Hears one for the fan girls out. To you girls who recently had dreams with TMNT, reblog your answers to the following questions and to anyone else for curiosity and fun:

Turtle (Leo💙, Raph❤️, Donnie💜, or Mikey 🧡?): Raph ❤️

Dream Nickname (if any): Xinmei Ruri-Lu

Dream (details please): Turtles exposed to the media and have to hide them until the heat dies down. Takes them to distant relatives summer mansion where they would be safe. Cousin Myra makes the sudden grab Raph inviting him to sleep in her room which he strangely excepts leaving me confused. For most of the summer, Raph spends most of the time with Myra while she shows him off (secretly boosting her popularity status). I catch on and confront her and Raph about to which he rebuffs. Everybody has fun leaving me in the dark except Mikey who keeps me company. I confess to him that I was falling hard for Raph which he insist I be honest. Go to do so but I overhear cousin’s plan to dump him. Threaten to tell if she didn’t but blows it off. Then go into full demon rage mode threatening to send her to hell which she reluctantly agrees to. But blows it off again when Raph shows up with rose bouquet (apparently Leo, Donnie, & Mikey made aware of my feelings and began to realize he felt the same). Cousin is about to claim the roses but makes it clear they were for me and that he’s not interested in her anymore. She gets mad jealous at being dumped revealing she only took interest to make me jealous which she fed off on. Raph puts in here place and storms off. I try like crazy to find him after the news stated that they’re whereabouts were a thing of the past. Eventually coming to the kitchen and dance room for the End of Summer dance party, Raph suddenly comes out of the party coming face to face with me awkwardly. He apologizes for letting things get where they did, hands me the roses, and prepares to walk away. I drop the bouquet and quickly grab his big hand asking nervously if he would like to dance (which he warmly accepts). We slow dance outside the dance room admitting how nice this moment felt before leaning up to kiss him. He teasingly kisses my forehead before grabbing his bandana ends pulling him down into a full-on romantic/passionate kiss telling him I loved (despite his reciprocal being denyingly silly). The turtles drag us in the middle of the dance floor playing our favorite jammin’ love song and we danced the night in each other’s arms beginning our romantic relationship before heading back to New York the next day.

Dancing (Y/N) If yes, what type?: Yes. Slow then Freestyle

Singing (Y/N) If yes, what song?: Yes. Here (In Your Arms) by HelloGoodbye

Kissing (Y/N) If yes, what kind?: Yes. Romantic/passionate

Hugging (Y/N) If yes, what kind?: Yes. Gentle and warm

Sexual (Y/N): No

Drama/Romance/Adventure/Horror/Comedy?: Drama/Romance

How did it end? Happy, Sad, Angry, Scary, or Unknown?: Happy

[glazedmcguffin]

@non-rise-tmnt-au-competition @glitter-alienzzz

[catbowserauthor]

TMNT MICHELANGELO STORY: A Single Act of Kindness 2

As for the two resident debaters...

“—understandable he’d be upset Raph!”

“Yeah, upset he can’t rub it in our faces anymore!”

“Raph, okay, so he went a little overboard—“

“A little?! He practically married that trophy-“

“BECAUSE IT MEANT I WAS WORTH SOMETHING!”

That shout sent everyone into utter and complete silence. Raph and Leo ceased their yelling and Donnie jerked so fast it was a wonder he didn’t get whiplash. All three of them turning to the source of the shout, their youngest sibling, standing rigid and still, fists clenched and trembling.

“W-what?” Donnie found his voice first. “What the shell do you mean it meant you were “worth something?!” Donnie rarely raised his voice but it was raising now. Unconsciously. He approached and took his younger brother's arm in a vice-like grip. "What do you mean?!"

Mikey finally looked up at them. Much as he wanted to just pretend this conversation never happened, much as he wanted to take back that outburst, it was done. He knew his siblings well enough to know that with something like that out in the open, they would be like little leeches. No getting out of it so just own it.

“Exactly what I said. It meant I was worth something. That I could do something right.” He yanked away from Donnie’s grip and fired at him “You think I don’t know the complete zilch I contribute to this team? Think I don’t see what little good I’m worth compared with all you?!” Don’t cry, he scolded himself. Don’t get emotional, this never ends— “Hard NOT to see it!”

His mouth really needed to start listening to his brain. Why was he doing this? He was the funny one, he was the one that kept everyone else from falling into deep depression. His job was to keep them smiling, no matter what. So, why was he failing so horribly right now? Why did just looking at Donnie and Raph send horrible memories shooting up his spine? Why couldn't he let go of this? It was an award, a position but it was silly for him to connect so much importance to it. It was silly. It was--

“I’m not strong like Raph, I’m not calm-cool-collected Master Ninja like Leo and your smarts make me look like some kind of vegetable Donnie.” He paced, begging his heart to shut up or his mouth to go numb or something but it was like a wound had been cut open. It was bleeding profusely and didn’t look to be stopping. As much as he tried to tell himself that this was silly, that he as overreacting, that he shouldn't have attached so much importance to such a simple competition, his heart had other plans and right now, it was tired of keeping that pain inside and erupted outward with that inner spiritual ache he tried so hard to cover up. “Know what it’s like with three brothers with those kinds of skills hovering over you when you grow up?” Mikey didn’t wait for a response though judging by their dropped jaws, they would have been unable to give one anyway. “I lost count of how many times I got told “why can’t you be more like Leo or Donnie? Heck, few times I needed to show more “passion” like Raph does. So....yeah, the Battle Nexus is stupid. I KNOW that.” Lord did he know that. He had known it for a long time. “You think I don’t know that first time was pure chance? I’m not an idiot!”

Idiot...how many times had he heard that word? How many times had he been called that, directly or indirectly? Did he believe it? Maybe a bit, more than he liked to believe it but on this, he hadn’t been fooling anyone, least of all himself.

“You think I don’t know if Leo had been well I’d have gotten my tail kicked?” He stopped his rapid pacing and locked eyes with his brothers. Theirs were wide and nearly frightened but Mikey's reflected only repressed inner torment finally bubbling to the surface now that it had started coming out, it was like a punch that was thrown. The energy was being unleashed and until it was done, it would not stop. “Or that if Master Splinter hadn’t withdrawn?" A few tears threatened to spill down his face and his voice caught, "And I _KNOW_ if the stupid arena hadn’t been messed with, I woulda lost to Kluh before my courage kicked in. I’m not an idiot!!”

“Mikey.” Donnie finally found his voice and that soothing reassurance spilled out like water. “We know you’re not an idiot.”

“No...just a lazy poor ninja right?” He snapped in response. Why was he getting angry? He’d grown accustomed to this thought about himself so why was it bothering him now? “Just a loud annoyance that slows you down right?” He really needed to stop yelling. Why was he yelling? C'mon mouth, turn off, turn off!

“Mikey!” It was Raph that time and despite the gruff presence that was forever in his tone, there was concern there. Deep rooted concern echoed in his voice and his strong baritone wavered a bit. He had never seen his youngest brother like this. Not ever. Mikey had always been their little bubble of optimism, of joking and if anyone was going to make fun of him, the orange banded turtle usually was best at making fun of himself.

What was this tearful, broken-hearted doubt-filled creature that looked like his little brother?

"Mikey," Raph repeated "I mean...yeah, you can be annoying but that's a little brother's job, right? I mean, heck, even Donnie here gets on my nerves sometimes." He jerked his thumb towards the purple banded turtle and under any other circumstances, Donnie would have sent him a lethal glare but right now, he went along with it. "And ya ain't an idiot."

"No," Mikey fired back. "No, I'm just someone that can't be trusted to come up with any good plans so why ask right? I'm just the one that you just need to figure out the place to shove him so that I don't cause too much damage, right?"

Leo finally spoke out, "Michelangelo, how long have you been keeping this to yourself?" His tone was firm and stern but not unkind. If anything, he looked completely lost. It was a horrible look to see on his face and guilt tore through Mikey's heart. The looks on Raph and Donnie's faces had been hard to take but Leonardo's positively killed him. There was a deepness to his eldest brother's eyes that just sucked you in and there was a vulnerability there that he made it his job to keep at bay but now, Mikey felt he had failed at that.

Just like he failed at most things.

"Doesn't do you Dudes any good to listen to me whine about what can't be changed, does it?" He countered his brother's question without directly addressing the inquiry. "So, I've just gotten used to it." He shrugged "I know I'm not gonna ever match Donnie in smarts or Raph in strength or you, Leo in ninja-ing so I figure if I can keep you all from going all emo on me, then that's good enough." He pulled from Leo's look, remarking "Sometimes all of you fall into that depressive mode so it's my job to keep that from happening. You guys are no fun like that. So, if I can make you laugh and smile, good. And if I do that by being an emotional punching bag, fine." He folded his arms, "Like I said, I've gotten used to it."

Donnie countered "That's not okay, Mikey! I mean, I wouldn't tease you like that if I knew it bugged you but you--"

"You always insult yourself first!" Raph countered. "And now you're standing here and telling us that it bugs ya but that's okay? Make up your damn mind, Mikey!"

"Raph!" Leo snapped but Mikey responded first.

"I tol' ya that it's fine, Raph!" he spat. "I'm used to it! That's my lot I guess," He laughed but it wasn't his usual laugh. There was no humor to it and even when he laughed, tears fell down his face. "I'm never gonna be good enough to match any of you. Even Sensei thinks so..."

"Now you can stop right there!" Donnie snapped, stepping forward. "We don't think that and neither does Sensei--"

"Bull." Mikey snapped back like a serpent. "He does! You all do!"

Leo stepped forward again and took his sibling in a firm grip, "Michelangelo, I don't know where you got it in your head that there's something wrong with you because there's not. You won't match us because you're Michelangelo. Just like we won't match you because we AREN'T you!"

"Thank God for that, right?" He countered and pulled from the grip, stepping to the side "Look, can we just forget this? I got all mad over something stupid. The Battle Nexus is stupid and I shouldn't have said it wasn't..."

Raph reached forward and pulled his brother back, a bit roughly, clamping both hands on his shoulders and shaking him, though lightly "Oh, shell no. We ain't doing that shit." His tone betrayed his deep concern and despite the harshness of his words, there was deep worry in his eyes, "What is it about this title, this Battle Nexus thing that makes you think you're worth something? What is it that the stupid tournament does that all your other talents don't do, huh?" There was desperation in his eyes that his family routinely did not see. "And don't you fucking say you don't have other skills, Mikey! Who's the fastest of us? Who's the most agile? Who's the one who comes up with the most off-the-wall creative ideas, huh?"

"That you don't listen to." Mikey countered. "How many times have ANY of you taken anything I've said in battle seriously? One time? And with a whole lot of incredulous looks at that." He cocked a brow at his brother's surprised look. "Oh, look, Mikey can use big words too." Groaning openly, he griped, head drooped "Look, I dunno what brought this on but can we just forget it, please? You're right, I lost, big deal..."

Donnie walked over and lay a hand on his sibling's shoulder "Well, obviously, to you it's a major deal." He bit his lower lip "Mikey, you said it made you feel like you were worth something. I...you should have felt like that anyway. We need to address this and I know you know it." He eyed him gently "That's why you're shifting between being sad and angry. You do that when you're trying to hide what you think about something--jumping between emotions."

It was something that normally people would dismiss as simply Mikey being hyperactive but his siblings had grown up with him and while Mikey did usually have multiple emotions, if he shifted between polar opposite ones, such as anger and sadness, it meant he was trying to hide something. Donnie found himself looking over the past, the times when Mikey had been calling attention to his victory and...yes, he saw it now that he thought about it. It was subtle but the shift in his eyes should have been obvious. The emotional change. How had they missed that? How had HE missed it?

Raph added as he crossed his arms, "Ya think we don't know that about you now? When Mikey shifts between emotions faster than he flips through commericals, it's because he's trying to cover something damn important." His sharp eyes softened a bit, "Something he shouldn't be."

Cursing his brothers' ability to read him so well as well as the spinning wheels he practically saw in Donnie's eyes, Michelangelo snarled, "Look, I just don't see the point. I've kept this to myself for a long time and--"

"And that's why it's coming out now." Leonardo stated simply. "You suppress anything long enough and eventually it snaps."

Groaning out loud, Michelangelo struck out emotionally, "This is why I came up here! To work through these stupid emotions without drawing you guys into it. I'm being a whiny sore loser, that's all there is to it." He backed p and said "Case closed, book over. Can we please head back down now? We're done. This is done, okay?"

"It's not." Leonardo remarked simply. "You know it and now, so do we. Can you be frank with us, Michelangelo?" He addressed his brother with an elder brother tone as opposed to his "leader" inflection. "The title of Champion obviously carries more weight for you than we knew. You said it made you feel worth something and the way you're talking now...you're totally dismissing anything important you've done as not counting..." Leonardo knew they hadn't helped with their teasing but still, to hear his sibling dismiss all his skills as not being important because they hadn't been utilized...it was haunting.

"Disqualifying the positive." Donatello said softly. "Common thought distortion." He added "And the bragging..."

Raph in particular eyed their genius brother "Somethin' else we shoulda noticed?"

Mikey chimed in before Donnie could answer "Ya did. I'm annoying with that, remember? But it's gotta stop now because I don't have that title anymore and--"

"People with low self esteem will brag and draw attention to themselves because it's the only way they feel they get recognition." Donatello admitted softly, not allowing his youngest brother a chance to divert the topic. He locked eyes with his sibling "We do know we were proud of you for that, Mikey." He was feeling like a broken record but given how they had dismissed it before, it was vital he made it clear they were proud and always had been.

Michelangelo's eyes darkened.

"No you weren't." Mikey's voice broke. It finally broke. "You were surprised. You never thought I would be able to do it. It was dumb luck, emphasis on the dumb part." He shifted his tone and Raphael winced, clearly recognizing the slur he had thrown at Mikey several times. "I should have lost. You thought it, Raphael thought it, Leo thought it. Sensei thought it." He jerked away from Donnie, stepping backward "You made that real clear."

"hey!" Raph cut in, "I mean, yeah, it kinda took us by surprise but.."

"I'm supposed to be the goof off, right?" Michelangelo challenged. "The one that gets into trouble. The one that can't think his way out of a paper bag." He froze there, bit down his emotions though it really was for naught. They were flowing, free as water right now. "You know how much it hurts to hear that from your family?" He managed to get out "With you guys, I expect it. It's a brother-thing. But..." He shook his head and his vision went blurry with tears "Father told me that. Told me that thinking was a "whole new world for me." You know how much that stung?!" He caught surprise in Leonardo's eyes a moment but by now, he was on a roll "I thought when I won the Battle Nexus Tournament, it meant I'd finally get respect from Sensei. That he might finally see that I was just as good...that there was ONE THING I outdid you guys at!"

Everyone had gone quiet.

"I thought if I got Sensei's respect that I might get you guys'." He was nearly sobbing now as much as he fought it. "I didn't though. It didn't change anything. So...I guess, the bragging was...I dunno. I guess I wanted to hear the praise from...someone." He bit his lower lip and dropped his head. "I wanted...needed to hear it. To hear I'd done somethin' right. That I was...capable of something. That's what that title means, okay? It means that I have something to offer, that I'm...that I have worth. I...I know it's a lie. I know that all the circumstances in the world went right for me not once but twice." Shuddering openly, he wanted to disappear, just fade into the earth. "I shoulda lost the second match, the rematch. By all the stupid rules, I should of lost but I didn't. So I _know_ it's a lie. It's a big fat, lie. But...it lets me pretend. I just wanna pretend to be worth something..." He clutched his fists tightly "It let me pretend..."

[the-head-scratcher]

Game Review: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Out Of The Shadows (2013)

Introduction - dive into this sewer, familiar or not!

Welcome to New York, a place where four legendary heroes call home. No, not the Fantastic 4. They dwell deep within the sewers. Hidden in secret. Shadows to the outside world. Trained as ninjas in martial arts from childhood. Still not with me? Ok, simply put, they're four oversized teenage turtles raised by a giant rat. Together they battle their ultimate nemesis, Shredder, and his ever-loyal Foot-clan, who try to rule the city with a steel grip. Still with me? Tubular!

Now let's drop through the manhole, into the sewer and see what’s what…

Overview - plenty of pizza toppings! 

TMNT: Out of The Shadows (not to be confused with the Michael Bay movie abomination of the same name) is based on the 2012 Nickelodeon show, a CGI cartoon based on the original comic book stories created by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird way back in 1984.

The game was released on 28th August 2013 by Red Fly Studios and features a hack and slash gameplay style like the Batman Arkham series of games.

It was available on Steam, Xbox 360 and PS3 but is no longer available digitally due to Activision not renewing the licence back in 2017. It is possible to find PC copies via the internet so there’s still some hope if you're interested.

The game has the following features:

Story - an adventure over four chapters.

Survival - fight and survive rounds of enemies until all four Turtles are defeated

Battle - choose your Turtle and battle foes in a four-round match

Arcade Mode - side-scrolling beat-em-up style mode for up to four players

Dojo - a training area to learn all the moves

Donnie's Workshop - unlock special weapons for each character

True Ninja Mode - attack indicators are turned off (for the true Ninja Turtle only!)

On release, you could play online with four players and two-player split-screen but these modes are a bit unpolished, to put it mildly. Multiplayer matches are very rare nowadays.

 Story - pretty standard but a nice distraction.

Taking a stroll around town, our testudinate heroes: Leonardo, Raphael, Michelangelo and Donatello, spot a group of thugs known as the Purple Dragons stealing some serious tech. But to what end? Of course, the Turtles investigate and inevitably the Foot clan and Shredder are involved.  

In general, it's a story about some dudes who are up to no good, which becomes more than first meets the eye, leading to a final showdown with a familiar villain.

It's straight forward but you'll get a few hours of enjoyment from it and the humour is quite fun. There are some great one-liners from Mikey which will raise a smirk or two for the die-hard fans but may irritate others.

There are also plenty of collectables to be found which may see you coming back from time to time.

Replayability - where’s it at?

Whilst the story won't keep you coming back too often, the Battle & Survival modes are where it's at for replay value.

Completing objectives grants you points to spend on the Turtles and how you use those points affects how each character plays. Your choices can't be undone so choose wisely!  

I've played through these modes countless times to find the skill set I prefer for each character but there could be more depth of customisation for each Turtle.

 Graphics - better on PC (once adjusted), but on consoles, you’re out of luck.

In general, the subtle background touches to the scenery, buildings and the weather effects create a satisfying version of the Turtles' New York. I found myself stopping now and again to admire the detail on the buildings and to look down at the busy city below whilst jumping across the rooftops.

If like me, you love taking screenshots of the action, you'll get some cracking ones, believe me (I took all the shots shown in this review)!

The lighting can be a bit too bright so you'll probably find yourself dropping the brightness down to get that more mysterious ninja feel.

The Turtles look more like the original 1990 film than they do their 2012 versions which is a nice choice in my opinion. The animation detail is great, with different styles of movement for each character and the way they navigate their surroundings and engage in combat is well executed and their fighting styles are impressive to look at. The first time you see Mikey doing taunt dancing while talking about his first nunchuck related black eye is also highly amusing.

There are limited customisation options but on PC at least you can go into the config file to remove the awful motion blur, which I did. I hate when games apply this effect as it often destroys the experience. Cranking up the anti-aliasing doesn't hurt either. Sadly consoles don't get that option - bummer!

Voice acting/characters - pretty good but beware the Kari!

I don't recognise who any of the voice actors are but I thought they were all pretty good and the Turtles all fit their personalities, even if the jokes begin to wear thin after a while.

Shredder sounds gruff and not too silly like the old ‘90s cartoon and when he mocks you it actually gives you the drive to beat his ass.

Splinter's voice was interesting but not quite as satisfying as I'd hoped - the original voice actor of Kevin Clash would have made for a nice treat.

The Foot soldiers are all mostly silent ninjas but it's funny when they try to sound tough and the same goes for the Purple Dragons - did these guys all train at the same place as the Batman games’ thugs did?

 My only gripes, in particular, are April and Kari. I just didn't care for April's character in the entire story and she could easily have been removed from the story without making any difference. Kari’s repeated "come find me Turtles, dance Turtles" taunt as she darts around dropping smoke bombs is a steady incline of annoyance to the point you'll crack and be like "let's just kick the bejesus out of her to keep her quiet!".

 Gameplay - this Arkham City clone needs some polish…

The main fighting mechanic is quite similar to the Batman Arkham series. There's a block meter for parrying attacks and a special bar that lets you unleash some awesome attacking power. Each Turtle fights differently and has their own specific perks and you'll soon have your own favourite.

On console, the frame rate maxes out at 30 fps which can affect the fluidity of fights but this increases to 60 fps on PC, a big improvement.

Whilst navigation in the game is somewhat open, there is still typically a set route which makes the game fairly linear.

 The option to sneak around and stealth KO a foe or run in and administer a fatal dose of Turtle Power is a nice touch during the campaign but in other situations, you have no option but to stand and fight.

 The first chapter of the story mode works as an on the fly training session to learn attacks, countering and the gnarly jumps and flips - you can practice more in the Dojo.

As far as the controls themselves go, the combination of keyboard and mouse is horrendous as the keys are so far apart. Thankfully you can connect up your favourite gamepad (I used my Xbox 360 controller) so it’s the same layout as console and easy to catch on.

The controller at times feels a bit delayed and if your inputs are too fast during combat your character may start doing random things like attacking an enemy then attacking thin air in the wrong direction. Sometimes trying to use your special will end up in it happening twice, ending your combo and suffering a blow from an enemy - shell shock!

 AI - unfair enemies, glitched brothers, weird camera - consider it Shredded!

*facepalm and sigh* Alright, my biggest gripe about the whole game, is the AI. Red Fly have laid the basic groundwork but there are issues like only being able to counter two enemies at a time and being completely open to attack while the animation plays out so a loose enemy can leave you on your butt. Enraged.

Sure there’s colour coding to show imminent attacks but that doesn't stop the game from disrupting your experience by ignoring your commands at the most inappropriate of times. I want to quick evade! No! Controller! Don't make Leo jump sideways into that thug's club… dammit!!!

At other times your brothers in green will just stand motionless after you switch between them quickly. In an intense battle, uppercutting a guy into the air, switching to Raph and smashing them to the ground just to see the previous Turtle taking a pummeling and not defending himself is seriously frustrating! You're just like, what the hell dude? Counter! You have to quickly switch back just to rescue his stupid ass from a beating.

Camera control can be quite wonky but from what I’ve played, most of the time it stays with the action, and believe me, I’ve played this game to death. On rare occasion, when executing a complex array of moves, the camera will jump completely off-screen to an empty void then suddenly snap back to the battle. I've only had this happen a few times but it’s jarring and you'll be panicking about getting hit.

Teamwork - when the AI works it can be radical.

Even though the AI enrages me, there are times with your Turtle brethren where they actually do come to your aid and aren't completely stupid. Sometimes they will even ask for a "little help!?" when holding an enemy at bay, a Krang for example, and you can join them for a tandem attack on the comedy mascot!

When you want to use a stealthier approach, they will listen to commands, so you can ask them to wait until it’s safe to proceed or get them to take out a foot soldier while you tackle the other. Knowing that the second the guy sees your green, baldy face, your bros are busy sending him for a snooze is quite. The stealth AI seems a little smarter which is a nice surprise and it seems Red Fly did a good job here.

 Nice tributes give a little nostalgia.

The game contains some nice Easter eggs. You can unlock the red bandanas, there's a classic black and white mode, tributes to the original 1984 turtles and Eastman and Laird's pictures are hanging in a pizzeria in the first chapter. Even some of the conversations the Turtles have pay tribute to their TV show and voice actors in a funny, knowing wink to fans. Loading screen tips often have references to things like "second time around" the shop where April lived in the comics and the 1990 movie. True fans will pick up on many of these details.

 Pros - pizza delivery!!

The combat is decent, the Turtles look and act as they should, the weapons for each Turtle are upgradeable, the skill advancement system is good, visually the game looks beautiful and the story mode is fun to battle through.

The physics are great, you can knock weapons away from foes and there is a good variety of enemies with different difficulty levels. The maps are challenging, there's the Dojo to hone your abilities and the True Ninja mode to really put your skills to the test. Arcade mode is a fun local multiplayer option to compete with your friends.

 Cons - you’ve been Shell-Shocked!!

The AI is lousy for both the Turtles and the enemies and needs work to improve the combat overall.

The motion blur and weird camera angles are disappointing and some of the dialogue is repeated ad nauseam.

Split-screen and online multiplayer is a nightmare and needs more testing and work done.

 Room for improvement?

Some TLC and more time spent on testing would have helped the end result. They could have been more ambitious too but back in 2013 where GTA and other more popular titles were ruling the market, I can see why they played it safe.

Changing the game to be a bit more open world with the ability to go underground or run around the rooftops more (think Batman / Spiderman on PS4) would have boosted playability tenfold and added the option for side quests (stopping crimes in the shadows for example).

As long as they don't make the same mistakes Platinum Games did with "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutants in Manhattan" - check it out - it’s one of the worst open-world/action games I have ever come across. It makes my eyes bleed.

 Final verdict - heroes or zeros in a half-shell?

Despite all its flaws and glitches and the frustration it leaves me with, I still have a lot of LOVE for this game. I'd say if you can get a copy, like, I mean anywhere, then you should give it a shot.

As a big TMNT fan, I highly recommend Out of the Shadows. There's loads of replayability in the battle mode and it even made me better at games like Arkham City - I know I've compared them a lot but they are similar in how they feel and play.

There are some major letdowns and it had the potential to be so much more, but I still keep coming back to this game over and over again and in all fairness, there isn't another TMNT game that fits the bill in terms of combat.

For Turtle fans, I’d give this a solid 8 out of 10 but for non-fans maybe a 7 is more appropriate as some of the shortcomings are frustrating. Give it a shot, though, and maybe you can forgive those flaws as much as I did, make it through to the final battle and give Shredder the Ninja Bro Shellbuster!

So, I'd say that's a wrap…Cowabunga?! Too cliched? Nah.

COWABUNGA!!!!!

Big thanks to James for writing this review. He’s an old best friend who does a bit of gaming and comedy. This is his first review and hopefully he’ll continue with some more: Oddworld New and Tasty perhaps?. His other work is the BCP podcast, youtube gameplay videos and cosplay, photoshoots and charity work at comic conventions under the name of the Spider of Moray. Links to all his other stuff are in this bio here.

[glazedmcguffin]

@terrapinnnn @non-rise-tmnt-au-competition

[glazedmcguffin]

imagine living a normal life and then your co-worker (kind of friend but more of an acquaintance) shows up at your door as a rat with four turtle kids and now you have to learn how to be a mom and co-parent but uh oh the rat man goes missing a few years later and suddenly you have to raise six turtle kids alone and a whole host of enemies are after you. This is the life of Tang Shen.

Welcome to TMNT: Silly Mode, my own personal iteration