#turtlestogetherzine

[mellcnimx]

I CAN FINALLY SHARE THIS HOORAY!! This is my page for the @turtlestogetherzine!! I still love this piece a year later, it was just such an awesome learning opportunity!!

[Leftover sales are happening you should definitely check it out hehe!!]

[goodlucktai]

too well tangled

rise of the tmnt post-movie / canon divergent word count: 1k characters: disaster twins

this was my bonus piece for the digital @turtlestogetherzine !

title borrowed from atticus—“you will never be unloved by me / you are too well tangled in my soul”

read on ao3

x

So it turns out that sixteen minutes in the prison dimension is about six months outside it. Give or take. 

Donnie calls it a temporal differential. Leo’s third day back was spent being gently interrogated within an inch of his life. For every answer he gave, Donnie’s face got a little darker. 

He seems a lot older than the last time Leo saw him. Everyone does. They all look at Leo like he’ll disappear into thin air if they blink too many times. 

He expects it to wear off eventually. He’s only confined to the infirmary for a week and a half, and on bedrest for a week after that, but even a month later Raph and Mikey continue to stick to him like glue. 

“I’m okay,” Leo tells them, when his bad leg seizes up and he staggers on his way to the breakfast table and Mikey’s face crumples horribly. Raph just huffs and lifts Leo clean off his feet to carry him the rest of the way. Swallowing past the uncertain lump in his throat, Leo adds playfully, “I mean, I’m not one to complain about the all-star treatment, but—”

“Good,” Raph rumbles, “then don’t.”

“Sorry if we’re being annoying,” Mikey says with a brightness in his tone that doesn’t sit quite right. He’s said that like fifty times since Leo came back. “We just—we missed you, Lee.” 

And what is Leo supposed to say to that? 

“Annoying? Please,” he scoffs. “I’m the king of everything obnoxious. You couldn’t annoy me if you tried.”

When Raph lowers him into a seat, Leo lifts his arm in invitation for Mikey to scoot his chair up right next to his, and then wraps him up in a tight hug. Mikey slots into his side like he belongs there, and he does, he always will, but it’s just a bit different than Leo remembers. 

Mikey is still his little brother. But only by a few months now. Leo’s seventeenth birthday came and went without him. 

And a part of him—this nameless little part that lives in the back of his mind, that’s lived there ever since dad made him team leader and ripped the rug out from under his feet—thinks that’s why Donnie doesn’t know how to be around him anymore.

He’s a constant presence. He’s a solid pillar for Leo to lean against when his legs don’t want to hold him up. But they don’t know what to say to each other. That unspoken understanding, that twin thing—it’s gone. 

Or so Leo thinks. 

Big Mama is more of a weird estranged relative than a mortal enemy these days, but she’s an entrepreneur first, eccentric wine aunt second. When she gets a big business idea, all bets are off. Leo can kind of respect that. It’s really thrilling and a little fun trying to match wits with a criminal mastermind, like high-stakes 5D chess. 

But her invitations could use some work. Sending a bunch of burly yokai in Grand Nexus uniforms to intercept the turtles on their way to Run of the Mill for dinner is a scheme that could have used a bit more time on the workshop table. 

Immediately Leo’s brothers close ranks around him. He’s allowed to run around in his leg brace at this point, but he has, in no uncertain terms, NOT been cleared to fight. He can tell from the set of Raph and Mikey’s shoulders that they’re beyond ticked off, but he can’t read Donnie’s posture at all. 

It’s bad timing, but suddenly Leo is preoccupied with those dark little thoughts he’s been having recently. Maybe Donnie isn’t happy to have him around. It’s been a lot of extra work, right? Dealing with the prodigal brother’s physical therapy and night terrors aside, now Donnie can’t even pick up some pizza without having to play bodyguard. 

So Leo is distracted—sue him. He’s got a lot going on. When an owl guard grabs him by the arm, he’s not ready for it. The yank backwards causes him to stumble, bad knee bending underneath him. 

The guard seems to loom over him for a moment. The evening gloom of the alleyway and the lurid glow of a nearby neon sign makes Leo’s brain sprint right back to the prison dimension. A distressed chirp works its way out of him before he can fully reorient himself. Add that to his ever-growing list of Good Reasons To Fake His Own Death. 

Big Mama’s goon looks surprised by the sound, grip relenting on Leo’s arm immediately. He wouldn’t do that if he were here for villainous reasons. So Big Mama probably actually considers kidnapping via sudden ambush to be a halfway decent method of picking her nemeses-slash-nephews up for an evening visit. 

Leo only has a second to think, Okay, I can work with this, turning up the charm and pretending like he can’t still feel the aftershocks of panic, before he’s being yanked again. 

This time he’s pulled right in against Donnie’s side, a strong arm around his carapace. There’s a burst of light and warmth—bright purple and overheated electronics, he’d know his brother’s ninpo anywhere—and they’re surrounded by a gleaming, glowing arsenal. 

The owl guard didn’t have a chance in hell. Donnie still doesn’t really look at Leo, not once as Mikey and Raph rush over, not even on the empty-handed trek back home. 

But he sits next to Leo on the couch while Mikey enlists Raph and papa’s help with dinner since their pizza run failed. The bickering and Mikey’s cooking playlist create a familiar, comfortable backdrop where it swells out of the kitchen. Donnie’s shoulder knocks against Leo’s. It feels like how it used to. 

Before he can lose courage, Leo blurts, “The thing I miss most from before is being twins with you.”

As soon as he says it, he wants to take it back. This is more mortifying than all of those initial grueling physical therapy sessions combined. 

He’s scrambling for an escape route that isn’t just hobbling away as fast as he can, or portaling to the bottom of the ocean, when Donnie suddenly says, “Draxum said we hatched together. We’ve been together all our lives. You’re pulling our twin card just because I'm finally taller than you?”

Leo sputters. “By an inch!”

Donnie raises an eyebrow at him, waiting with uncharacteristic patience for Leo to catch up. Maybe that’s what he’s been doing this whole time. 

Eyes stinging, Leo slouches into Donnie’s side. The softshell matches him, his cheek coming to rest on the top of Leo’s head. It reminds Leo of hugging Mikey earlier that morning at the breakfast table. 

Leo still fits here. There’s a good chance he always will. 

“Guess this finally makes me the older twin, huh, Nardo?”

It surprises Leo into laughter, maybe the first big loud laugh to come tripping out of him since well before the invasion. Conversation in the kitchen grinds to a halt and Mikey and Raph come barreling out a second later all covered in flour, eager to catch him in the act, to get in on it. 

“Sorry, Tello,” Leo says, grinning, not very sorry at all. “Not in this lifetime.”

[dontron-9000]

💚💚 My Turtles Together swag came today!!!! 💚💚

I ordered mine ages ago, but by a stroke of luck, it arrived on my bday today! What an excellent bday gift! Love it!

Thank you @turtlestogetherzine !!!

❤️💜💙🧡❤️💜💙🧡❤️💜💙🧡❤️💜💙🧡❤️💜💙🧡

❤️💜💙🧡❤️💜💙🧡❤️💜💙🧡❤️💜💙🧡❤️💜💙🧡

[grizzlyofthesea]

Oh my banana pancakes, this sounds awesome! And it's for charity? For sea turtles??? Cowabunga, I'm in!

Booyakasha dudes!

  We’re coming to you live from the sewers: The Turtles Together INTEREST CHECK is now LIVE! It will be open from now until Jan 28th @ 11:59 PM CST, so don’t delay! Help us bring this project above ground!

FORM HERE <-

[lokidotir]

I just received my Turtle Zine, and it is AMAZING!

Everyone who worked on this is extremely talented, and your work will continue to inspire the rest of us!

I love that this is similar to a time capsule, holding memories from the very start of TMNT.

The stories, the art, the Easter eggs... there's so much to unpack in this zine, and I'm sure that everytime I open the book, I'll find something fresh to be dazzled about!

[camilieroart]

Here is the piece I did for @turtlestogetherzine !

I absolutely adore both Rise and 2012, and this was a blast to make ! Thanks for having me :) !

[classy-thief]

🌻 my piece for @turtlestogetherzine !!

I'm still super proud of this even after a year later, so I'm excited to finally share the full piece!! it was fun getting to work alongside talented artists and seeing everyone's WIPs!

in case you missed out, the digital bundle is still available until the end of today, June 30th!

[angelpuns]

Finally able to share this comic I did for the @turtlestogetherzine bonus zine! I was and still am reall proud of it, since I never really get to do paneling like this!

I also wrote a fic for the main zine, which I might share later! It's also turtle tots, so I'd probably be adding it to my rise drabbles on ao3 :)

[kathaynesart]

Beachball jumpscare!

Summer is almost here! So it's the perfect timing to release my submission for the @turtlestogetherzine! I wanted to draw the boys having a good time in my neck of the woods. I think they'd flourish in SoCal (albeit our pizza does kind of suck, but hey, Leo can port when needed).

The leftovers sale for the Turtles Together Zine is now going live so if you're still interested, be sure to check it out HERE. It was such an honor to be a guest on it and is filled with so many amazing artists and writers! You will not be disappointed!

[crosshatchedaces]

Here’s the page art piece I did for the amazing @turtlestogetherzine It was so fun and such an absolute honor to be a part of this project! I got to meet and work alongside so many other wonderful people that are incredibly passionate about the TMNT Franchise!

[miniyunart]

My piece I did for @turtlestogetherzine !

I truly cannot explain just how much this project means to me, and how PROUD I am of every single contributor!! Everyone did so amazing, seeing all the love and passion everyone had for the TMNT series was seriously so awe inspiring.

The amount of people who supported the zine, first with preorders then with Leftovers (sold out in ONE DAY! Crazy!) and those getting the digital zine still, you all are incredible and I genuinely hope you love this project!

This piece is so special, I went in thinking I'd do something Raph focused (my technically favorite turtle) or even something Rise focused (my fav version so far) but no, I went to the drawing board wanting to represent as many iterations I could with Leo!

My history with Leonardo is such a funny one, when I watched 2003 (my first iteration) growing up, I HAAAAATED Leo LMAO! I hated how boring he was and how much of a rule stickler he was, and I grew up with just this innate dislike of him for every following iteration, till I watched ROTTMNT. I went into Rise expecting to dislike Leo, but they did a complete flip on his character, and I loved it! It was so fresh and it was so fun seeing him be a goof.

So when I went back to watch 2012 for the first time, I found myself loving Leo and his traits there, and then when I went back to watch 2003, the appreciation for Leo grew TENFOLD and I just became smitten with this character!

Mutant Mayhem wasn't out yet at the time, so I wanted to create something that celebrated Leo, the series and the passing of the torch to the newer younger Leo! (WHOM I ADORE!!)

Sorry this was so long, but this project came out better then I could have DREAMED!! So thank you to all who helped bring it to life!

COWABUNGA!

[staticwither]

Turtles Together Zine

leftover sale for @turtlestogetherzine has begun, check it out! turtleszine.bigcartel.com

Close ups below ⬇️

🔷🟪🟠🟥🔶

[haruminyuu]

My work for @turtlestogetherzine !! What an amazing zine to be apart of!! 💖💖

[mr-doodles]

This is my piece from the @turtlestogetherzine ! It was my first ever zine that I've participated in, and it really was fun!

[draconicdeityarts]

Very very excited that I can finally share the pieces I did for the @turtlestogetherzine !!!! Here’s the page that I did!

I love the 90s films so much, so I went for a piece inspired by the 3rd one!

Absolutely honored to be included in this project, and y’all were one of the best, kindest groups I have ever worked with. Much love 💖

[kobbers]

Finally, it's time for my full @turtlestogetherzine piece reveal! Unfortunately, the leftovers sale seems to have completely sold out before I could get online, so I'm too late for the marketing angle. Here's a link anyway! - https://turtleszine.bigcartel.com/

So many people contributed pieces covering almost all versions of TMNT we've had to date, and my assigned role was to carry the torch for the original Mirage comics, which I was thrilled to be able to do.

I decided to lean into the Turtles in Space arc, which is one of my favorites (Triceratons are just cool okay), and also made sure that it had some good groanworthy puns. Mirage TMNT has this mythical reputation for being Too Hardcore For This Soft World, but it's actually a very goofy comic that's allowed to have a little blood and intensity sometimes. I love that and wanted to make sure the goof came through.

Here's a couple WIPs, including some of my training to emulate that oldschool indie comic style! It was fun trying to get all the shapes and shading right!