thedemisapphic

[thedemisapphic]

In Defense of Donnie's Gifts

I'm ngl I sorta think the shock collar was still just an odd writing decision but as far as PREMISE:

It CANNOT be a coincidence that this is the first time (and one of VERY few times) that Donnie's soft shell is referenced. Once, when Raph is hesitating to tell Donnie his gifts suck ass, and he uses the soft shell metaphor, and after that with Meat Sweats and his paprika, describing it as not just soft, but delicate. Weird, but he is a cannibal, so. (Side note, Meat Sweats never removed his battle shell? How does he know? Or did he take it off and replace it after the pound of butter? Is he using it to facilitate steaming and tenderness? Is it broken? I feel like it should have something in there that could break him out of the sausage links)

Then in that last little scene- "Forget it. You guys are great the way you are!" - we get the shot of Donnie from behind pre group hug, with his brothers facing the camera. (Idk if I'm making shit up, but I feel like this is a staple for Donnie episodes? It def happens in the Purple Game, maybe Smart Lair.) The framing draws attention to his battle shell. The battle shell even kinda matches the gifts, compared to the rest of their gear and even Donnie's tech, color coded and way more streamlined than stuff like the tech bo.

Donnie's soft shell is an innate, unchangeable part of him, a feature of his species, that he treats as a handicap. Probably MORE unchangeable than the character traits he sees as holding his brothers back, which they do sorta... not mature out of, but refine, rather, over the course of the show. Donnie's shell can't experience a character arc, but he sees it as holding him back. So he FIXES it.

The Mad Dogs don't really have a motivation for beating stuff up besides "Hero Time!!!" at this point. That's why it's so interesting how EARLY this happens, unlike with Mind Meld, he isn't trying to change his brothers to make them better at a task that he actually CARES about. Donnie in particular never gets a super intense moral compass besides stuff that threatens people he already cares about, and he doesn't have any grudges (no Purple Dragons) at this point in the series. Hero Goals are largely devices for him to hang out with his dum dum brothers. I'm not diagnosed or anything but my vibes are certainly... Spectrum-Adjacent, I definitely have trouble with literal thinking and reading people. One thing that happens sometimes is people will be using "task" as "reason to hang," and I will get a lot more fixated on completing said task than I really should, to the point of annoying people. I confuse "Successful Task Completion" with "Successful Social Interaction." It makes me come across as bossy and controlling without realizing it.

So, we got a Donnie who thinks Arbitrary Goals are essential to Hero Bonding, who has been treating his life like an mmorpg - armor upgrades, skill trees, grinding, sometimes fighting through random dungeons to hang out with his bros. He's probably even slightly better at Fighting Stuff than his brothers atp, he isn't dealing with a mystic learning curve and his special interest has been Weapons of Mild Destruction for years already. His brothers want to level up, take harder missions, he tries to get them there with his access to High Level Loot.

Of course, his brothers are all min-maxing, not trying to multiclass their purple ass out of squishy glass cannon town. So, it doesn't go well. Unfortunately, the lesson Donnie learns (besides brotherly affection) is that his brothers don't NEED fixing like he does. Mind Meld and Donnie vs. Witch Town sorta finish this arc out as best as the series can.

Where I would have liked to see this go:

A S2 Donnie's Gifts or Mind Meld style episode (Donnie tries to improve his brothers, to their dismay) where the motivator isn't goal completion, but protectiveness. We see a bit of the fear in Purple Game, a bit of the contingency planning with the escape pods in the movie. Maybe a more upfront "training montage" type scenario, a high tech robo dojo to develop their mad skills, or just a tense moment after a skin of their teeth Genius Built rescue.

The brothers confront Donnie eventually-- not just the passive conflict resolution of Donnie's Gifts. They get mad. Push Donnie to the point he's at in Turtle-Dega Nights. They get a rant about not wanting them to get hurt, of course, but also that he's already done so much to FIX himself, make sure he's not a LIABILITY, why can't they at least try to stay SAFE? The dangers are real now, and as far as Donnie knows he REALLY can't do anything about threats like the Shredder. His tech did nothing the first time. His brothers are the ones with the mystic mojo, and they don't even realize how SERIOUS things could get.

Anyway. Protective Donatello my Beloved. Let my boy go apeshit.

//I REALLY Like the 2003 episode where Leo is hurt and Donnie is fucking PISSED at Usagi. All Donnies should be allowed to enter a feral protective rage, as a treat.

//If anyone knows of any Purple Game Aftermath fics lmk. Like, going home, getting donnie out of the evil gamer chair, guilt, whatever. or just good Purple Dragons being Assholes content.

[thedemisapphic]

EVERYONE LOOK AT THIS IMMEDIATELY LOOK AT MY BOY

MY BOY IS TINY

HAPPY APRIL FOOL'S!! AGAIN!!!!

Last year we saw Leo turned into a little hamburger, now what kinds shenanigans will they go through this time???

I tried different speech bubbles + a different font for this comic, I really really hope you all enjoy it <3333

Kid Leo Au Masterpost

[thedemisapphic]

raph…*starts shaking raph aggressively*...PINK IS A MAN COLOR!!! ONLY REAL MEN WEAR PINK AND I WILL NOT BE CONVINCED OTHERWISE!!! SAY IT RAPH!! SAY PINK IS A MAN COLOR OR I WILL CUDDLE YOU SO HARD YOULL DIE FROM LOVE AND AFFECTION (I love you btw🤗)

RAHHH!! PINK IS A MANLY COLOR!! 💪🏽💪🏽💪🏽

Raph'll take the cuddles anyway :))))

[thedemisapphic]

Definitely unrelated to my last post, I wrapped my hand and am now limited to my right hand. Which is luckily my dominant hand.

Put pressure on the hand and quickly realized “I’m actually not okay, OW?!?!”

So uh… gonna try to write a tiny Raph chapter with one hand. Which means writing on my phone instead of my laptop. It’s faster and easier.

[thedemisapphic]

For a hot minute I thought I broke my hand trying to start the pressure washer earlier but it’s fine we’re all good

Psst… while I’m here, how would y’all feel about more one off chapters for A Small Shell…

Because I kinda want to explore tiny Raph more…

I want him to use a piece of pepperoni as a blanket and sleep in a matchbox bed…

I want Donnie to build a tiny robot paired with a suit he wears to track his movement just so he can give Raph a hug…

I want Casey to be absolutely shocked when he sees tiny Raph for the first time…

I want everyone to start going to April for advice and help now that their big brother isn’t big anymore…

I want Splinter to see tiny Raph for the first time and get upset as he just sees a baby. Thinking back to how small Raph was when he first got them all and having a crisis of the fact that he was absent for almost their entire childhood, missing the moments when Raph used to be small…

I want Raph to feel even worse about his life because he’s tiny, which is making it impossible to not only exist, but also do anything independently.

[thedemisapphic]

Breeze, lilac, and mindaro 🫶

Tagged mutuals in another reblog to this post, don’t want to spam <3

which mutual am i? ask game

[thedemisapphic]

Had to think about this for a hot second but I think azure, merlot, and lilac :3

@unluckilylvcky @doodleloverz @nickkkdoesstuff

@lynxdecatsworld

which mutual am i? ask game

[thedemisapphic]

Does anyone have screenshots of the guys clinging onto Raph when they’re scared- I’m digging but I can’t find any 😭

[thedemisapphic]

I finally caved and downloaded a couple lgbt dating apps.

Why is it so hard to find people who don’t smoke- my flabbers are gasted.

And uh… Her kinda sucks. It’ll get the job done I GUESS but the app itself feels bugged, and you have to pay to use ANY of the extra features. You want to filter your results based on sexuality? Tough titties, you’re gonna have to deal with it.

Uuuugggghh I just want a girlfriend is that so much to ask

AND EVERYONE IS SO FAR AWAY FROM ME

I WANT SOMEONE CLOSER SO WE CAN GO BOWLING TOGETHER 😭

[thedemisapphic]

This was a fun thing to do immediately after work lol

I kept adding rainbows, and it kept getting covered up as I discovered more OPTIONS 🌈 very colorful.

@unluckilylvcky @doodleloverz @nickkkdoesstuff @lynxdecatsworld @theoneandonlyjambalia

And anyone else who wants to participate!

fuck it. worm on a string picrew chain. let's fucking go

happy worm creation my friends

tagging @areyoudoingthis @cursed-coat-of-homosexuality @peanutbutterex @tfemteach @piratecaptainscaptainpirates (no pressure 💛)

[thedemisapphic]

Here’s that WIP I promised y’all! And a caption pasted from Instagram

I recently got a job, so y'all only get a WIP. I work at a pet lodge now! I'm a kennel attendant. It's a huge workout, which is nice since I'm trying to lose weight. But l'm also fucking sore and exhausted like all the time, so I haven't had time to make or finish any content for y'all. Not sure when I'll adjust to the new routine, but I wanted to give you this Capril art I started before beginning my new job!

You can see how far I got from the time lapse before I got busy lol. I do plan on finishing it, but I'll probably turn it into pride month art now, so l wouldn't expect a finished version any time soon.

I also wouldn't expect much content from me for a while at all. At least not while I'm adjusting to the new workload. I'm walking a lot and lugging around heavy soap and hoses. I love the work and I'm good at it but damn is it tiring. Worth it for 18.50 though lol. I hope y'all enjoy the sapphics!!! I saw an animation @/ditzyblues made for Valentine's Day and it just ignited a FIRE and I NEEDED to draw Casey and April together immediately lol.

[thedemisapphic]

I’ll post the WIP on Monday then (not tomorrow but the day after, just in case there’s a time difference between me and y’all). I think it’s suuuuuper cute. I’ll probably end up saving the rendered version for pride month since I’m sharing the WIP this month. Because why not!

Unrelated I almost fucking slipped at work today. I tried out new boots (because rocks keep getting stuck in the heels of them, which makes the already slippery floor like a million times worse, so I got new boots) and the boots themselves became a hazard. Rocks got into the bottoms of them easier, the bottoms themselves felt more slippery, and I almost fell on my ass so many times. I actually hurt my arm grabbing the wall to keep from falling. Because the kennels I clean in these areas is like concrete, but like… polished concrete? Polished is the wrong word, but it’s completely flat. And SLANTED. So water will drain off of them. Which makes it fine going in, but I slip when I walk out if I’m not careful. Which, if I get tired and forget to be careful, I risk slipping. Especially in risky shoes.

I bought new shoes today that I think eliminate the risk of rocks getting stuck entirely. Now I just need to wait and see if it will still grip well. Because I don’t like how slippery it was today. I’m walking on soap most of the time out there- dog kennels are slippery when I’m cleaning them. A slippery mix of water and soap. Today was just extra slippery because of the boots I wore, so I’m crossing my fingers that my new boots aren’t also a hazard. Or I will be upset. Because that slows me down and makes me walk slower to keep from falling :( sometimes I just want to go home to get off my feet.

I need y’all to cross your fingers I don’t fall on my ass tomorrow- it’s my last day of work this week, then I’m off for a few days and can SLEEP

Okay, so I want y’all’s opinion.

I started a Capril drawing a while ago, but then I got a new job that has been taking all my time and energy so I haven’t gotten the chance to finish it. I finished the sketch, though, so if y’all want a WIP I can post it next week? I like posting at noon, and I usually finish around 12:30-1, but I’m like sore and tired anyway.

I intend on finishing this drawing regardless, but I don’t want to go forever without posting and I know it’s going to be a long while until I’m able to finish this at the end of the day, it’s when you want to see what. So I’ll let y’all vote here!

[thedemisapphic]

Raph is the best boy I WILL DEFEND HIM WITH MY LIFE 😭🤜💥

MARCH FOR RAPH ↳ Day 4: Sunset

[thedemisapphic]

Okay, so I want y’all’s opinion.

I started a Capril drawing a while ago, but then I got a new job that has been taking all my time and energy so I haven’t gotten the chance to finish it. I finished the sketch, though, so if y’all want a WIP I can post it next week? I like posting at noon, and I usually finish around 12:30-1, but I’m like sore and tired anyway.

I intend on finishing this drawing regardless, but I don’t want to go forever without posting and I know it’s going to be a long while until I’m able to finish this at the end of the day, it’s when you want to see what. So I’ll let y’all vote here!

[thedemisapphic]

WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS

WHO IS USING THIS

AN APP??? THEY HAVE A FUNCTIONING WEBSITE

THE LAST FUNCTIONING WEBSITE

[thedemisapphic]

[thedemisapphic]

USA people! Buy NOTHING Feb 28 2025. Not anything. 24 hours. No spending. Buy the day before or after but nothing. NOTHING. February 28 2025. Not gas. Not milk. Not something on a gaming app. Not a penny spent. (Only option in a crisis is local small mom and pop. Nothing. Else.) Promise me. Commit. 1 day. 1 day to scare the shit out of them that they don't get to follow the bullshit executive orders. They don't get to be cowards. If they do, it costs. It costs.

Then, if you can join me for Phase 2. March 7 2025 thtough March 14 2025? No Amazon. None. 1 week. No orders. Not a single item. Not one ebook. Nothing. 1 week. Just 1.

If you live outside the USA boycott US products on February 28 2025 and stand in solidarity with us and also join us for the week of no Amazon.

Are you with me?

Spread the word.