dianagj-art · 6 months ago
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The new team-mates have arrived!
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One's not trilled 😔
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tizeline · 3 months ago
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I just finished binge reading everything under your separated AU tag and I have QUESTIONS!! (that mostly just stem from me being a mikey fan) Be prepared as I will ramble.
So. My #1 burning mikey question is as follows. Why does he decide to, you know, NOT eradicate all of humanity? Does he just do it because all of his family is? Ugh it’s hard to phrase this but I’m wondering if Draxum’s word means so much to him he changes his entire world view, since draxum was the person who made him believe humans are evil, if he changed his mind he must be right? If he is the very last one to change his worldview, how does he react to the person who essentially indoctrinated him into believing humans are evil just going back on his word? Would he just, idk, try to keep going by himself (proper villain arc style!) Or does he get his own little human/outside friend to convince him, like his two other brothers do? What would happen if instead of a human/outside friend to convince him humans are okay, he gets someone like say, leatherhead, who was experimented on by the earth protection force?(Since in 2012, he was experimented on by the Kraang, but I don’t see a way of that happening when they were locked away his entire life) Huzzah for conflict! or better yet, That same leatherhead convinces him humans are okay? Though that those seem out of character…. And of course maybe it would be mondo gecko, who he befriends and then finds out was human just a few months before and still views himself as such…. So many possibilities!!
speaking of other characters, do the Drax trio have any Yōkai friends? Like one Sunita, or maybe even one yoichi usagi, per chance? Though I’m pretty sure they’d be pro-human so… idk how that would work. The question still stands.
Also, seeing as you mentioned Raph starts to hang out with Leo,Donnie and April, how does mikey react to that? Would he feel abandoned or left out? (Who am I kidding of course he would but like. It does t hurt to ask!)
And seeing as he’s alone now and he’s not training all the time (I hope) this feels like a good Segway into asking: does he have as much of a love for art as in canon? What are his and Raphs interests (since we know Leo’s!)
thanks! I love ur work and ur art and ur Au and ur mother for creating you.
P.s. I had another question I wanted to ask but I can’t for the life of me remember what it was rn so you can expect more asks from me in the near future ;)
Hoo boy, long asks mean long answers, strap in folks!
So EXACTLY what causes Mikey to change his mind on everything is something I'm still working out the details of. Draxum definitely plays a part in it, considering how much faith Mikey has in his dad, Draxum of all people changing his mind would be one of the biggest reasons for Mikey to also second guess himself. It's not like he'd instantly change his entire worldview though, after Draxum gives up on the Evil Plan, Mikey, or rather Dr. Positive, tries to motivate him to come up with a new plan for a short while. He gives up after Draxum makes it clear that they're Done™ with that, and Mikey isn't very keen on trying to do the Evil Plan all on his own considering HIS ENTIRE FAMILY decided to just give up on it. That doesn't mean he'll suddenly start liking humans, he still thinks they suck ass, he just isn't actively trying to cause their downfall anymore.
For both Leo and Raph, a big reason why they changed their minds on humanity was because they interacted with humanity and learned how wrong many of their previously held assumptions about them were. It makes sense that that's the catalyst for both of their redemption-arcs, and in that sense it also makes sense for Mikey to unlearn his prejudices against humans by interacting with them. HOWEVER! You bring up an interesting point, for Mikey specifically it would probably be more effective for another yōkai/mutant to give him a new perspective considering he'd be a lot more willing to listen to them rather than a human. I haven't been planning on including Leatherhead or Mondo, but it would be fun idea so I might do so.?That being said, getting to actually know a human later on would still be a good learning-experience for Mikey, I'm kinda tempted to bring in Woody from the IDW comics into the story too, for example.
So then we get to the topic of friends! Despite The Drax Bros growing up in yōkai society, they're still a bit isolated. They can go and hang out in The Hidden City basically whenever they want (as soon as they're old enough to do so), but when it comes to actually getting close to other yōkai and forming proper friendships...? So first of all, Draxum has a Reputation™ amongst yōkai, he's a well known figure and a lot of people are honestly a bit intimidated by him. Most yōkai thinks it's best to just stay out of his way, which includes staying out of the way of his weird kids. Basically, the bros' association with Draxum has a tendency to get in the way of them actually befriending anyone :/ Not just that, but while there are certainly yōkai who don't have the most positive feelings about humans, the Draxum family's stance on humanity is very extreme, which even most "human-critical" yōkai will find off-putting.
All of this is to say that no, they don't have a lot of friends haha. Leo hangs out at Run Of The Mill all the time, and Hueso definitely has a soft spot for him, but at most he's only acquainted with the other employees and regulars there. I'd imagine that includes Sunita, considering her dad works there and as such they've interacted on occasion. But again, Leo's extreme view on humanity makes most people uncomfortable and as such they'll mostly indulge him in civil small-talk to avoid getting on Draxum's bad side. Raph and Mikey...? They might have some casual friendly connections with some yōkai in The Hidden City, especially Mikey can be quite sociable if he can keep himself from ranting about humans for two seconds lmao. But for the most part, honestly, I think The Drax Bros are content staying a bit closed off from others outside their family. The three of them are very close and they know they can trust each other, that last part's important considering their Big Plans aren't exactly.... legal.... and as such they need to remain secretive about everything to others. I feel like they'd mostly start bothering finding new friends after they decide to abandon their Destroy All Humans Plan.
(Sidenote, I really like when Usagi shows up in TMNT stories, but I've never consumed any Usagi media myself. Almost all I know about both Miyamoto and Yuichi I know through TMNT and as such I don't feel confident enough in my knowledge about the Usagis to include either of them in the story. I HAVE been planning on reading the comics, so maybe I'll include him at a later date??)
But OH BOY Mikey's reaction to Leo and Raph starting to hang out with Donnie and April?? :D Both of Mikey's older brothers ditching him to hang out with their new little brother and his annoying human friend??? :D OH BOY YOU HAVE NO IDEA! :D
Listen, look at this from Mikey's perspective: You finally find your Long Lost Brother™ after thirteen years of him being presumed dead, great! Small problem, he's been brainwashed by the evil humans who kidnapped him and now thinks YOU'RE evil for some reason? No matter! He just needs some time to adjust! So you're patient with him, you show him kindness and understanding while gently trying to guide him back to the good side, to his REAL family. You do EVERYTHING right, and how does that bastard repay you?? HE instead turn your brothers against YOU! He ruins your plans of saving the world! Everything was PERFECT before HE showed up and started complicating things, and now your family is BROKEN and everything sucks! And it can all be blamed on Donnie.
...Hate is a very strong feeling, I don't feel like Mikey is really capable of feeling something like that, at the very least not against someone he does still technically considers family. Rather, I think the best way to describe the feeling Mikey is about to start feeling about Donnie would be bitterness. Mikey takes all the negative feelings, all the hurt and confusion about the situation he's ended up in and directs it all at Donnie. Because it all comes back to him, doesn't it? It was only after Donnie got reunited with them that things started going wrong. And from Mikey's point of view, Donnie has basically stolen Mikey's brothers from him. Needless to say, Mikey is dealing with a lot of negative emotions that he doesn't really know how to cope with them aside from taking it out on Donnie.
Donnie, who is so used to being love-bombed by Mikey is VERY flabbergasted over him basically just completely flipping a switch overnight. Mikey will just be glaring at Donnie like he's trying to explode him with his mind and Donnie's just "???who are you and what have you done with Mikey???". He starts acting really hostile towards Leo and Raph as well, it's all very weird!
Back to me not having figured out the details of the entirety of Mikey's character arc, one thing I'm contemplating is how long I wanna drag it out for. For example, I know I want to change up the events of the movie at least a bit in the AU for the sake of novelty. One way of doing that could potentially be for it to focus not on Leo's and Raph's ever growing tension in their relationship, but rather focus on Donnie's and Mikey's relationship? It'd be extra interesting if Mikey hadn't at least completely gotten over his hang-ups about humans when we bring Casey Jr into the situation. CJ looks at Mikey and sees a younger version of the man that was basically an uncle to him, like family, and Mikey looks at CJ and is just like "ew. human." and that'd be a whole dilemma to deal with. But as interesting as that could be, I'm scared that it'd just get tedious if Mikey is stuck in angst-mode for too long. We still have the entirety of season two to get through before we get to the movie, it's gonna be a while is what I'm saying. Then again, character growth takes time, maybe Mikey reconciles with his own family and starts the path to befriending Donnie by the end of season two, but they run into some roadblocks along the way. They ARE very different people, even in canon, I'd imagine it might take some time for them to properly befriend each other.
But next question - Mikey and Raph's interests! Mikey already likes to draw, but he'd definitely start doing it way more after the season 1 finale (oh wow, a healthy coping mechanism, imagine that!) Raph... Raph likes training. Even after it becomes clear that they're not doing their Big World Domination Plan anymore and as such don't really need to train as much, he still does it just because he genuinely enjoys it. He becomes proper friends with Casey the season one finale and she also really likes training, so it becomes a bonding experience for them. Leo and Donnie later on also introduces him to human media like Jupiter Jim and the Lou Jitsu movies and he gets really into it too XD Nerds!!
... Oh man, I think that's everything! Anyway, thank you, I'm glad you're enjoying the AU so much :D
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midwesternvibes · 8 months ago
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Eh screw it villan Leo time
You know what kills me most about this idea?
For Leo to TRULY become evil the way I'm thinking (no mind control, no huge influence to make him evil, no bad guy giving him an ultimatum to make him evil, it's all his own volition) something drastic would have to happen
Like, we've seen this boy, he's got arguably the strongest moral code of all of them
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Like seriously, he was the first one to speak up here, even with Mr. We-need-to-be-heros in the car
And even Raph doesn't have the absolute strongest moral code ever either
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He can be convinced to do things if the argument is sound enough (read: it looks more fun than what they're currently doing or he gets to smash something)
And while Donnie is obviously the smartest, he doesn't hold a candle to Leo when it comes to any form of logic
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Donnie can also be convinced to do something if others are doing it (and, once again, if it's more fun than what he's currently doing)
Anyways, my point is that if his moral code suddenly turned sour, he would stick to it pretty rigidly even if his heart is telling him otherwise
Sooo....what would make him turn? The only thing I could think of is that he believes that his brothers hate him
But honestly, not even that. I think he'd have to believe that they don't love him
Previous // Next
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dancingdonatello · 2 years ago
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Can I request a Rottmnt (separate) x gn! villain reader (romantic) who has glitching powers? They can glitch through walls, hack machines, and can make attacks go through them instead of hitting them.
So, by villain, I mean that reader was manipulated into becoming a villain because of their past. And they are very emotional, so when the turtle and reader first meet, he tries to talk to them, reader gets angry and attacks the turtle.
rottmnt x gn villain reader
Raph hates fighting you. He knows you’re not really evil, that it’s just circumstance, but you won’t listen to him when he tries to talk you out of it.
He gets frustrated because of it and it only fuels your fight. He feels bad when you get emotional, because he can’t do anything to help you. You just won’t—or can’t—listen to him.
He hates your powers too. They’re too confusing for him and powerful to the point where sometimes he is forced to hurt you to be able to protect himself and his brothers.
Leo on the other hand loves to fight you. It’s confusing to fight you, kind of like Ghost Bear, but it’s fun to watch Donnie freak out when his tech malfunctions when you touch it.
He likes watching you get all mad when he doesn’t take the fight seriously. Sure, he’s heard your tragic backstory and yeah, he’s figured out that you’re being tricked and manipulated into doing all of this, but who can blame him for laughing when your face twists up at one of his jokes?
He feels bad, of course, but in his mind you are just another villain. His plan is to take you down first and then work out the details of you being tricked. He doesn’t hold back any punches.
Donnie has a love-hate relationship with you. It was frustrating to try and be nice to you only for you to attack him. It was infuriating to try and be nice to you only for you to absolutely ruin his tech behind repair.
After he gets over that part, he becomes obsessed in working together with you. His mind cannot handle the possibilities of you two combining forces. He doubles his efforts in trying to get you back to the ‘good’ side and get payback at whoever hurt you or tricked you into doing this.
He makes tech that he can afford to throw away to fight you just so he can get more opportunities to see you in action and talk to you.
Mikey really tries to befriend you. But with you constantly trying to punch him whenever he gets close makes it hard to do so.
He thinks about you all night after your first fight, trying to figure out how to convince you to join their side. Your first meeting is stuck playing in his mind on repeat.
He takes a lot of hits constantly to try and get close and he also never fights back. Every fight, he never once attacked you. His brothers have to work overtime to protect him.
this is such a cool idea anon! maybe one day you could or request someone else to write this out as a full oneshot or fic. there’s definitely potential.
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scentedcandlecryptid · 4 years ago
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I had a dream about rottmnt and pirates of the caribbean (hey at least I’m consistent with my nonsense)
More specifically, I had a dream that I was reading a fanfiction about rottmnt and pirates of the caribbean. (Well- it was rottmnt in a pirate universe, I’m pretty sure that there was only one fully pirates of the caribbean character, and he was just a mix of the two comic relief from the original black pearl crew. The ones I can’t remember the names of rn, but they’ve shown up in every movie so far, and one of them looses an eye constantly)
I don’t remember all the specifics, but I remember being really enthralled by the plot.
It followed Leo mostly, he was swashbuckling and always one step ahead of everyone else. He sailed alone on his own ship on a search for treasure.
He made deals with other pirates to gain maps and insider information (and to get out of sticky situations). However, Leo was also hiding from another pirate crew. They had basically taken over the seas and was the only one who knew where the treasure was.
Now, while Leo mostly used his wit to convince others to do the dirty work, and gain info on things, his greatest success he figured out all by himself. There was a letter that his father gave him before he died. As well as the letter goodbye, it contained a map and a poem. Leo had followed the map, thinking that it would lead him to this great treasure, but instead it lead him to a giant cliff, no treasure in sight.
Leo was thoroughly disheartened, because this was his final lead to find that treasure. He looks at the poem that came with the map and is further depressed because it says something along the lines of “when you’re out of options, the waves will always welcome” So it seems like his father is telling him from beyond the grave to end it. But then he has an idea, what if the treasure is underwater and that’s why he can’t see it? He takes the dive.
Now, there isn’t any treasure, but he finds an Pirate haven. A bar with multiple floors, gin, and a rule against fights. The only way to get in is through an underwater cave. Leo nearly drowns trying to get in. There are pirates there that Leo has never met before, and with new faces comes new information.
Among those new faces he meets that comic relief character I mentioned earlier and Mikey.
They get along fabulously and they become great friends (I’m pretty sure the four turtle bros are brothers in this too, but they just don’t know it. Maybe that’s the treasure Leo’s father wanted him to find)
Insert miscellaneous adventure I don’t remember here for bonding purposes.
Eventually, the haven is attacked by that evil pirate crew that took over the seas. (Its not Leo’s fault, I checked) and the whole place is ransacked. That comic relief guy lost his glass eye (it’s on the second floor) nearly everyone is killed, and the whole bar is gutted for anything valuable.
Only Leo, Mikey, and that one guy make it out alive. They go their separate ways after that for whatever reason but now Leo wants revenge on this other pirate crew.
Insert other miscellaneous adventure here for timeline purposes
Leo eventually meets up with comic relief, and offers to get his eye back in return for a ship and help taking down the evil pirate crew (oh yeah, forgot to mention, comic relief guy is a captain in this). He agrees, and Leo sets out back to the secret underwater cave.
Now, while Leo was doing all that, Mikey was having an adventure of his own, at some point he met Raph, who was also a captain of a ship. Mikey was sure to tell Raph all about Leo. I truly can’t remember what their adventure was, but I remember that it ended with them fighting the Evil pirate crew very close by to the secret cave.
Something I neglected to mention, is that while the turtle bros didn’t have mystic weapons they did have mystic powers. Leo’s was that he could teleport under very specific circumstances that I don’t remember (it’s probably drowning) and he can know with certainty where something is, if he’s been to that place before. That’s how he knew where the eye was.
So Leo gets to the cliff where the cave is, and immediately jumps into the, now nearly frozen water (it’s night, and it’s winter) Mikey and Raph see this, and promptly freak out because of aforementioned nearly frozen water (also Raph doesn’t know about the secret cave, and mikey knows that it’s closed off) so they rush off to save Leo.
When they get there, Leo is pretty much unconscious in the water and his pulse is very slow, he isn’t really breathing. Mikey and Raph understandably freak out. And they do so for several moments before they’re surrounded by a glowing blue light, and the three are teleported inside the secret cave, to the second floor, right next to the eye. Mikey and Raph freak our further (raph finds out about the secret cave) but somehow Leo wakes up, they hug, Leo properly meets Raph, and he gets the eye.
All seems to be going well, until the ceiling collapses and the whole place starts filling with water. The theee nearly make it out still breathing, and see that the reason for the cave in was because the Evil Crew shot a cannon at the cliff trying to lure them out.
It’s finally time for the final showdown.
Now, before I continue, I’d like to point out how built up Donnie had been at this point in the story. He was the final missing brother, he had been alluded too in ever single arc, and the author made it clear that THIS was it. In the next chapter Donnie would finally show up. But they did so in way, that none of the readers knew in what role he would show up in. Would he save the brothers? Was he on the Evil crew? Was he pirate? Was he maGiC? Did he know where or what the treasure was??
And then I woke up.
FUCKING WHAT?!??!??!????!???
You have no idea how much it KILLS me that I don’t know how it ended. For the first few moments when I woke up, I thought the story was real and I thought “oh, I should go read that to see how it ends” but it’s not and I’m so sad.
I want to see the conclusion!!!! Do they find the treasure??? What’s Donnie’s deal???? Do they defeat the Evil Crew????? Why did Leo even care to get the eye back, was it important????? Did Leo’s father know the other brothers???? Are they brothers at all????
If you managed to make it this far, you’re probably invested as well, and I’d just like to say, I understand your pain of not getting to see how it ends. I’m sorry.
Also, sorry for the long post, I wanted y’all to share my pain.
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davids-cartoon-corkboard · 4 years ago
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Do you think that if Shredder!Raph will occur in rottmnt, the aftermath might result in Raph inheriting some of Shredder’s rage even after saved? Maybe that is how the crew is going to implement Raph’s trademark temper throughout previous generations and maybe even make him have to step down due to it, making Leo the new leader?
Short answer: “Inheriting the rage of a centuries-old demon" is a dope-ass idea, so if you’re a writer I would definitely encourage you to use that in your own stuff. But I think that if Raph’s temper worsens throughout the show, it should be because of his own character development and not a magical effect. However, a Shredder!Raph scenario could contribute to said worsening temper by inflicting emotional/psychological damage instead. :)
Long answer ahoy!
Looking at “Many Unhappy Returns” from the Shredder’s perspective makes it very clear why he does what he does. Like, he’s been dead for five hundred years, and then something went wrong with his resurrection. He’s waking up with no idea where he is or what’s going on and oh shit those guys are pointing weapons at him, that’s a threat!
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Note that he doesn’t even bolt for them immediately, he does a warning stomp and screech (back off!) before starting to approach.
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Those other guys are yelling, that’s also a threat,
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and they’re closer so he’s gonna attack them first, actually. (None of the Foot wind up even comically injured, suggesting that flailing them around was an intimidation tactic rather than genuine Murderous Intent.)
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And then the first group attacks, so of course he’s going to retaliate.
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And then suddenly he’s somewhere else, with other threats (the animatronics), and then the first group that attacked him is back, so he’s gonna fight them again.
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And these jerks just keep following him? He’s not going to ignore that. And WOW that’s a lot of bright lights and loud noises, which are also threats, what the fuck is going on?!
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And then this tiny human girl chucks a giant metal box at him, holy SHIT?! Sure, the Shredder is a dangerous antagonist, but at this point I wouldn’t call him a “bad guy”, he’s literally just responding to what’s happening to him.
In summary, the Shredder was stressed tf out because he didn’t know where he was or what was happening, he retaliated against perceived threats, and quite possibly wouldn’t have attacked the turtles in the first place if they hadn’t just rushed in without understanding the situation.
Gosh, doesn’t that sound familiar?
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So yeah, I’m waiting for Rise to give us that good good Shredder!Raph content.
As for the possibility of Leo taking over afterwards... no, but also yes, sort of? On the one hand, we know that Leo does have leadership capabilities, and it would be a waste for the narrative to not explore that. On the other hand, Rise has broken from the status quo in many ways, and it would also be a waste for the show to do a complete 180 and return to Leo Being The Leader™.
Consider how the “leader” role has influenced Leo in past iterations: his perfectionism wears on him and his brothers, any failure tanks his self-esteem, he feels isolated from the rest due to taking on such a large share of responsibility, being an authority figure grinds everyone’s gears, etc. It’s just bad for his mental health.
No doubt all this responsibility will also wear on Rise!Raph as the story progresses and the stakes get higher. It will be bad for him as well. But if Raph steps down, Leo will once again suffer from the weight of this role. So if neither option is quite correct, if neither brother can shoulder the burden of leadership alone, then the solution is just... for neither of them to shoulder the burden of leadership alone. Sure, Raph will probably remain leader in title and in spirit, but Leo taking on a sort of “deputy” role makes sense from a strategic standpoint, and would be good for his character development.
Here’s how I think it could go down:
The Shredder!Raph scenario will be different from the Shredder!Draxum scenario. The Shredder was starved for mystic energy the first time around, so he immediately chewed Draxum up and spit him out. But Raph could be compared more to a battery than a meal; it will take a while for the Shredder to drain him. And at this point the Shredder could be back in “evil samurai” mode, and thus will understand the value of holding Raph hostage.
Y’all who have followed my blog for a bit know about my “Raph is a system” theory; that when he was little, he got separated from his family and pursued by some cryptid hunter. This trauma formed Savage Raph, who is able to handle “being lost/alone/threatened” when Host Raph cannot. “Pizza Puffs” didn’t give us a lot of info about who I’m calling “Red Raph”, but he made his presence known when Host Raph was sort of... "emotionally alone”? In that his brothers were dying a little bit and too stoned to care.
So if Raph is trapped inside a living cage, scared and helpless and hurt and exhausted, his family unable to help him... he’s not going to be able to handle it.
Or, rather, Host Raph isn’t going to be able to handle it.
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These two can, though.
I’m imagining a scene in the mindscape where the Shredder says something like “Your pathetic family cannot bear to strike you down, and so there is nothing that can stand in m- wait, why are there three of you OW FUCK-” Red and Savage will mentally kick his ass long enough for the other turtles to rip off a chunk of the armor so Leo can portal it into another dimension or something. Shredder gets K.O.’d since he’s not whole anymore, and the battle is won.
Since the armor didn’t drain Raph as severely as it did Draxum, he won’t become as weak as Draxum did. However, it will still take him some time to recover. Raph trusts Leo in serious moments as of “Many Unhappy Returns”, and he already took charge when Raph wasn’t available back in “Man vs. Sewer”. So Raph will be like, “Hey Leo, can you handle the Mad Dogs for a bit? Just long enough for me to get back on my feet.” And Leo will be like, “Sure bro, I’ve got this.”
He does not, in fact, “got this”. Leo’s ego has caused trouble before (”Shell in a Cell”, “Minotaur Maze”), and being in charge will no doubt go to his head. This has the potential for both comedy and seriousness, leading to wacky mishaps and genuine danger. Being the leader is hard work and it’s not always fun, but someone has to do it and Leo will have to put the others before himself for it to get done. Once Leo realizes this, he could bond with Raph by asking for his advice on leadership. Sometimes Leo will follow the advice and sometimes he won’t, sometimes that will work out and sometimes it won’t, laying the foundation for the idea that there are situations where it will be better for one or the other to lead, rather than having one lead all the time. But that will only happen for a few episodes, because Raph will heal quickly and he’ll be the leader again and everything will be fine!
Everything will not, in fact, be fine. Raph is the strongest in the family, the tank, the one who can take a hit so the smaller ones don’t have to... the idea of being hurt, of being weak, scares him because his family is also in danger if he’s unwell. So I don’t think he’ll acknowledge to anyone, not even himself, that getting possessed hurt him emotionally as well as physically. And when a wound isn’t acknowledged, it doesn’t get tended to, and when a wound isn’t tended to, it gets worse.
That he’s a system will add another layer of complexity to this. The Shredder!Raph incident would make all the alters aware of each other via mindscape shenanigans, but it would also leave them with the fear of not being in control, so I think they’ll come in conflict with each other for a bit. They’ll argue with themselves, switch, and lose time more often, enough that it impedes their ability to function and the other characters start to notice something is wrong.
Host Raph will convince himself that Everything Is Fine and try to get things “back to normal”, which probably means he’s just straight-up not going to acknowledge that he's a system. He’ll rationalize that he’s always “gotten weird” from time to time, so it’s nothing to think too hard about... right?
Savage Raph will be on high alert because they just survived a near-death (a near soul-destroying) experience. He’ll probably take the front and go overboard fighting some villains that Host Raph could have ordinarily fought on his own. It might also take a while to convince Savage Raph that these “sewer monsters” who keep following him around really don’t mean him any harm.
Red Raph will get snappy (pardon the pun) about the more social aspect of “not being in control”; that Host Raph asked Leo to be in charge and then Leo started being an egotistical dumbass. And when Leo does make the right decisions, Donnie and Mikey might side with him over Raph, and that will also grind his gears.
Mix all that together and you have a recipe for a capital b Breakdown.
So yeah, I can definitely see how the Shredder!Raph incident and its aftermath would worsen all three of their tempers, trauma will fuck up your emotions real bad. Perhaps Host Raph loses faith in himself and tries to step down and get Leo to replace him as leader... only for Leo to be like “Bro I cannot do this full time I will one hundred percent have my own Breakdown if that happens.”
The life lessons here are that Leo learns to offer support by sometimes taking the leader role; not to benefit his own ego, but because he wants to help Raph. And Raph learns to accept support by letting Leo be in charge sometimes; not because he’s weak or incapable, but because he can’t always be a Staunch Immovable Rock and he needs to let himself rest by trusting Leo.
And then the Raphs can work on communicating, cooperating, letting their allies know about them, digging into their trauma, etc. now that they have some breathing room.
(Do you think the Hidden City has therapists? Steven Universe and Mao Mao both have therapists can we BLEASE get one for Raph.)
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missbeautyandherbeast · 5 years ago
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You Promised
Mikey X Reader
Summary: Request: @brightlotusmoon​: The turtles sneak into an abandoned warehouse to collect some tech, like medical equipment that would be used by evil scientists like Sachs. A mutant creature attacks from a hidden place. After they get what they need they're cornered. Mikey realizes he's the only one fast and agile enough to distract the monster, so he makes his brothers leave and gets caught and mangled. 
A/N: Guys this is some serious angst. Like my heart hurts. I’m crying, you’re crying, everyone is crying. And look at me, two one-shots in two days! Who am I? I don’t know but these requests really sparked my interest so here they are in all of their angsty glory. Also, let me know what you think! I love hearing from you guys! Love y’all so much!
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“We’ll be right back, don’t worry about it doll face.” Mikey smiled and pressed a kiss to my forehead.
“I always worry about you.” I chided giving him a look. “Are you sure this is going to be easy? This... this sounds dangerous.” I bit my lip, debating on how much I wanted to voice my fears.
“Danger’s my middle name.” Mikey grinned, giving me one last kiss before heading off with his brothers.
“No it’s—” He was too far gone to hear me, “not.” I sighed watching him disappear in the distance through the catacombs of New York.
“I’ll keep him in line. Always do.” Leo reassured me with a reassuring smile.
“Who’s gonna keep you in line though,” I teased nudging his shoulder. “Just bring them home safe.”
“I will. Promise.”
And with that, I was alone in the lair save Master Splinter who was meditating. Staring at nothing I stood there for a while before drifting to Donnie’s chair, watching the screens, listening in to their conversation. It was one of the first things that I learned to do when I committed whatever my life was to the turtles and their mission. I was the ‘guy’ in the chair when Donnie was gone and the whole team was on a mission.
“You worry child,” Splinter came up from behind me, making me jumps slightly, pausing my racing thought.
“Yeah...” My mind lagged a bit. “This seems too easy. How can they just leave the Cradle out in the open like that? It seems like a trap.” I sighed and spun back around to the monitors. “Or maybe I worry too much.”
“There is no harm in worrying, my child. It is only when that worry stops us from doing what is right.” Splinter watched the screens with me. “They know the risk and the possible outcomes. Though it may seem like they are nonchalant, they know the danger in the choices they make.”
I nodded, not taking my eyes off the flickering pictures of the live recording from each of the brothers’ shoulder cameras. I trained my eyes on Mikey’s more than the rest.
“You there, angel cakes?” His voice came through the radio.
“I’m here,” I grabbed my headphones and plugged them in, allowing better communication. 
“I can feel your worry from here.” He teased. “Chillax baby doll. We got this.”
I hummed a response and kept my eyes trained on the screens.
“Foot on your left Raph.” My eyes started flickering around making sure that I caught every danger that would pose a threat to my boys.
Breaking into the warehouse went smoother than I thought it would, which both aided and heightened my anxiety.
It’s too easy, I kept thinking. Nothing was this easy when it came to The Shredder and The Kraang working together.
Especially when it was something this valuable. The Cradle? It was made to create synthetic tissue to heal any and every wound. It worked in a microcellular level, fusing tissues together, grafting them, in such a way that the body didn’t even know that it was any different from normal cellular regeneration.
“Target secured.” I heard Leo announce.
“Get out of there.” I ordered, “Now.”
I had a bad feeling. A really bad feeling. A Han Solo bad feeling.
“She’s right guys, there’s something here.” Mikey shuddered and I could see from his angle on his cam that he was looking for something that wasn’t quite there.
Something moved in the shadows.
“Get out of there Mikey!” I hissed. “All of you! Out!”
But it was too late. The thing from the shadows emerged and hulked over the brothers. My heart sank. This was bad. Very very very bad.
Whatever they did it wasn’t good enough. Even though Leo gave a flurry of commands, it wasn’t enough. The best knew exactly what they were doing and when they were going to do it as if it were reading their minds... My eyes widened in the realization: it could read their minds.
“Get out of there! It can read your thoughts! Don’t think!” I commanded leaning over the desk reading the computer run diagnostics on the beast, proving my statement correct.
It was a mutant. But it was so much more than anything I had ever seen. It was part Kraang, part human and part animal. It was a Predator. That was the bottom line. A Predator that knew exactly how to take down the four brothers.
There was a hand on my shoulder, starling me. I spun and saw Splinter, watching in silent horror. I took his hand in mine and watched with him, waiting for the card that would be drawn to decide the fate of the brothers.
“Leo, get the others out of here with the Cradle thing. I got this.” Mikey called to his brother. 
“Mikey don’t you dare!” I screamed over the com. “You get out with them!” Tears were spilling down my face as fear froze my heart. “Please, Mikey!” I cried.
“I’ll be alright angel cakes. I love you.” His voice was soft, and at peace. 
“No, no, please,” I begged. “There has to be another way. Please,”
“I love you,” He repeated.
“Mikey,” I whimpered out, touching the screen that showed his camera feed. “I... I love you too.” My eyes glazed over as I watched in horror until his camera feed went black.
“No, no, no. No!” I screamed and crumpled to the floor. “He can’t! No!” My breaths came short and fast, my lungs burning for oxygen that just wasn’t there. “Michelangelo no, please,” I sobbed, hugging my knees and rocking.
Splinter was beside me, and comforting arm around me, in solemn silence. I cried and cried until anger burned inside me. I picked up the headphones that had been ripped from my ears earlier and got back online.
“Leonardo Hamato, you listen to me.” I hissed into the mic. “You will not leave your brother. You hear me!? You will not leave him!”
“We have him, he’s... we’ll be back soon.” I heard Donnie’s gentle voice. “You might not want to stick around for this...”
“Bullshit,” I seethed. “I’m staying.”
“He might not make it,” Donnie tried again, I could hear the strain in his voice.
“I’m not abandoning him.” I grit through my teeth, tears leaving warm tracks on my cheeks.
It was agony, waiting for them to return. I paced the floor and screamed at nothing and even got to the point that Splinter gave me an old katana and let me have at an old training dummy. Which really helped. Until I was a sobbing mess on my knees.
There was a bustling and the three brothers emerged, carrying one. I flew to their side and gawked at my Michelangelo. A hand covering my own mouth kept pathetic cries from leaving my lips, with little to no avail.
I heard Donnie list of things that were wrong, broken, severed, damaged, cracked... it all faded as shock hit my system.
“Leonardo, take care of Y/n,” I heard Splinter order in a rushed hushed tone. Deep blue eyes appeared in my vision as hands cradled my face.
“Y/n? Can you hear me? Y/n?”
“You promised,” I whispered. “You promised!” I ripped away from him screaming. “You promised me, Leo! You said you’d keep him safe!” My voice hit a new octave with the hysterics that ran through my system. “You lied to me! How could you lie to me!”
Tears had started to fall again as I made my way over to where Donnie worked over Mikey. Strong arms held me back from getting there. I screamed and yelled, collapsing, letting whoever had me support all of my weight, and he did, without trouble.
“Let me go,” I begged. “Please let me go,” Sniffling I clung to Leo as he pulled me into a tight hug, protecting me from the world around me.
“He can’t be gone.” I rasped out. “He can’t.”
“I know,” Leo’s voice was soft and gentle as he held me close, stroking my hair. “He’ll pull through, he always does. He’s tough.” It sounded like he was trying to convince himself more than he was trying to convince me.
My head shot up when Donnie emerged from the lab. I crawled out of Leo’s lap and raced over, hopeful. Also waiting for that hope to be shot down.
“He... he’ll be okay.” Donnie finally got out. “Splinter was able to keep him alive long enough until I could hook up the Cradle and it’s got him stable. It’s... just going to take a long time for him to get back to normal.”
I was shaking, like I was freezing, my teeth chattering, threating to bite through my tongue if I didn’t get it under control, but there was no control here. I had lost all control from the moment that they left the lair.
I heard a sound that didn't make sense, a strange, ripping counterpart to the otherwise calmed background of the lair. I couldn't tell where it was coming from.
Splinter emerged behind Donatello and took in my state.
"You'd better make her sit before she falls," Splinter said, calm. "She's going to pieces."
I could see the blood on his robe. Horror was like pounding waves in a hurricane, pounding on my heart. It wouldn’t let go. It wouldn’t let me be warm. I was shaking. I was petrified.
“She does seem to be in hysterics,” Donnie gave the verdict, supporting me right before I fell.
Then I understood. Oh. The noise was me. The ripping sound was the sobs coming from my chest. That's what was shaking me.
Donnie scooped me up like a small child and brought me to his lab, holding me close still as he sat in his chair. A blanket was draped around my shoulders, there was a glass of water in my hand and then I felt the smooth liquid slide down my throat. It soothed the burning ache. But nothing could stop the shaking.
Not the affirmations.
Not the votes of confidence.
Not the blankets and warmth.
Not the facts.
Nothing.
Until I slipped off the edge that my mind was so desperately clinging to.
Even in sleep, there was a dull ache. Like some part of me knew that something was amiss. Something was wrong. A piece of my heart was damaged.
Then I was aware of the voices. They were just humming at first, and then they grew in volume and clarity like someone was turning up a radio.
“Donnie,” I heard an agitated voice.
“She’s been through a lot, let her mind protect itself.” Another voice soothed. “She’ll come around when she’s ready.”
But my mind was not protected. It was trapped in the knowledge that had not left me, even in unconsciousness - the pain that was part of the blackness.
I felt totally disconnected from my body. Like I was caged in some small corner of my head, no longer at the controls. But I couldn't do anything about it. I couldn't think. The agony was too strong for that. There was no escape from it.
Mikey.
Michelangelo.
No, no, no, no, no . . .
“It’s been two days.” The first one hissed.
Two days?
"Y/n, honey?" This was Leo’s gentle voice. "Can you hear me? You're safe now,"
Yes, I was safe. Did that really matter?
Donatello was speaking the words that allowed me to escape from the torture that had me caged inside my own head.
"He's going to live. Mikey is healing as I speak. He'll be fine."
As the pain and dread eased, I found my way back to my body. My eyelashes fluttered open and I was met with anxious faces.
“Leo?” I asked, my voice raspy, my throat on fire. 
“Right here,”
I struggled to sit up but lost that battle to a splitting headache. Spots danced in my vision as my ears rang, and I decided to lay back down.
Again there was water at my lips and slipping down my throat until the desert that was my mouth was no longer present.
“She needs to get food in her system.” Donnie chided. “Or she’s gonna pass out again.” 
“Let her wake up more. Then she can decide.” Leo argued back.
“Mikey?” The words came from my lips as a prayer, a hope, a plea.
“He’s on the mend my child, he’ll be okay within a fortnight,” I heard the gentle majesty of Splinter’s voice.
I nodded and tried once again to sit up, this time accomplishing it. Through the spots that were fading from my vision, I noticed that I was on the couch in the main room. My hands curled around the softness of a blanket. There wasn’t a part of me that wasn’t stiff; when I tried to stand Splinter was there to balance me. I gave a nod of thanks, not trusting my voice at all.
“What do you need my child?”
There were a lot of things that I needed.
I needed Mikey to be okay.
I needed to go back in time and stop this entire thing.
I needed for Mikey to be the one here, waking me up, asking me what was wrong. Asking me what I needed.
“A shower.” I settled on one of the lesser demands of my mind.
The hot water scalded my skin, and it was nice to not be shaking for once. Every part of me was sore and tired. I felt like I could sleep for two more days.
Soft sweaters and socks comforted me as I curled up on Donnie’s chair watching Mikey. Watching the Cradle. Donnie explained how it worked, but I tuned it all out, keeping my eyes on my hero in orange. Except that his mask was gone. It was gone from the moment they got back. From when my world truly started to end.
It had been about a week. I barely spoke and ate when I was made to. Showers were daily and sleep was optional and when I wanted to. Otherwise, I’d be here. Sitting. Watching. Waiting.
No one bothered me. Which was probably a good thing. I didn’t know how I would respond if I was forced to feel anything but numb and patient.
There were nights when I’d wake up screaming and crying from nightmares that were just memories with which my psyche tortured me.
Leo was always there.
Donnie was always there.
Raph was always there.
But there was always one person who was never there. Who I needed more than the oxygen in my lungs.
Baby blue eyes and a cheeky smile and a stupid joke.
That’s what got me most nights. Not that the dreams scared me, but instead that when I woke up I screamed because they weren’t real. Because Mikey wasn’t okay and here beside me. Because I was alone. For the first time in my life, I felt so alone.
They’d hold me until I calmed down and was quiet long enough to sleep. It had gotten so bad, the nightmares between us all that we ended up making a huge bed in the main room and each night slept in an amalgamation of bodies pillows and blankets.
“He’s awake.”
I jumped up, untangling myself from the blankets and ran to the lab, followed by the other two.
“What!?” I demanded. “Donnie if you’re lying to me I’m gonna...” I couldn’t even finish the insult because I saw what my dreams had promised me.
Baby blue eyes and a cheeky smile and a stupid joke.
“I told you I got this,” His voice was raspy and broken but I couldn’t care less. 
He was awake.
He was alive.
I wasn’t alone.
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littlejowo · 6 years ago
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So I've made an AU. I'm on mobile, so I can't make a read-more, so I hope you like text walls! Forgive thr goofy sketches, though; this AU gets pretty angsty.
I've been referring to this as the Rogue AU, but it could also be referred to as a Future AU. It's mostly Donnie-centric, but I'll also explain the changes the others went through.
The premise of the whole thing is that Donnie gets kidnapped by Baron Draxum for his brains. Draxum wanted to force him to create various weapons, gadgets, and other such things. Obviously, the other turtles came to save Donnie.
What nobody expected, however, was for Donnie to go rogue and become a traitor.
He managed to break free of his binds, but instead of escaping with his brothers, he helped Draxum to drive them away.
For the next three years, Donnie worked with Draxum to turn as many humans as possible into mutants. He also made traps and weapons, and improved upon his battle shells. With Draxum's youkai tech, he was able to make and do things far beyond what he ever could with scraps and junkyard findings.
Donnie's reasons for helping were that he was tired of feeling unappreciated for his work, and like his brothers only cared about him when he made something he thought of as trivial or useless. He also felt that Splinter's love for him was conditional, whereas Draxum seemed to show genuine appreciation and adoration for Donnie.
Whenever his brothers came and tried to confront him about it, Donnie would tell a half-lie and say that he WANTED the world to be mutated, so that nobody would have to hide anymore. He played up his mad-scientist persona to the max, making it seem as if he cared more about the science behind the process than how it would affect people. The hurt he felt when his brothers believed it drove him even further into Draxum's clutches.
After three years, however, there was an accident.
Donnie grew tired of needing to wear battle shells. He wanted his real shell to be hard enough to protect him. So, he decided to take after Draxum and dabble in genetic modification.
He was not very good at it.
His shell remained soft. However, he grew much taller, until he was almost 8 feet tall. He managed to grow some thin facial hair, which he secretly loves. He also became physically stronger (even if not by very much), he became far faster than before, and his senses dulled slightly. Despite these changes that he admittedly liked most of, even if none of them were the intended effects, he ended up regretting it severely.
The next time he had to go into battle against his brothers, he found that there was one other side effect, and it was the most serious of all: When his heart rate went above a certain level, his form woulf change into what would later become known as his "hulk" form.
Depending on why his heart rate increased, this form would change slightly. In anger, he would become large and monstrous. In fear, he would become slimmer and more stealthy. In fluster, he would become more turtle-like and evasive.
During this first change, however, he lost control. He would become angry and deadly, and the realization that he wasn't himself led him to become the more fearful creature, and so on. His emotions ran wild, and his form became an amalgamation of all the creatures who's DNA he used to modify his own genes.
The battle had ended when Draxum foolishly tried to get Donnie under his control. Baron Draxum ended up severely injured, and Donnie took the chance and ran away from everything.
For the next year, Donnie lived in solitude, spending his time trying to undo what he'd done to himself. When he realized that he could not, he came up with various ways to keep his "hulk" forms in check. He never fully mastered it, but he did get to a point where he could mostly keep it under wraps.
In the meantime, the other turtles searched for him tirelessly, never giving up. By the time they found him (4 years after his initial kidnapping), they had also managed to finally take down Draxum. The ooze-squitos were still loose, and they had other enemies to fight, but the Evil League of Mutants was disbanded.
After these 4 years, Donnie was found and finally brought home. He didn't make it easy for them, but once the turtles convinced him to come home, he was glad to know that his brothers truly cared for him all this time, and that they loved him. And he realized just how much he loved them, too.
The next year was spent with everyone trying to figure out their new dynamic, and how to get around all the changes that had gone by in the last 5 years.
Donnie became more open and affectionate, and much louder. He's still the master of sarcasm and sass, but he evens it out with sudden declarations of adoration for his family, random hugs, meaningful gifts, and obnoxious games and sports competitions.
Around 2 years after Donnie's initial kidnapping, Leo took over as the team leader. He earned his place there by proving his worth in giving up his mystic weapon.
Initially, this was not a choice. When he had just turned 16, he tried to make a TikTok video to celebrate his birthday. It went wrong, however, and he ended up losing his right arm. Raph and Mikey tried to cauterize the wound, but did very poorly and left him with severe burns that ended up scarring permanently.
His odachi was nearly impossible to use with one hand, so he had to give it up and replace it with dual swords (like before) one of which he wielded with his mouth. He has some scarring around the corners of his lips from getting cut so often when he was still learning how to master his new weapons.
Leo quickly became fairly these weapons, and was a fearsome fighter. When Raph saw the progress he was making, and the potential he had to be something greater, he willingly gave up his title as leader and gave it to Leo.
After that, Raph started to have issues with his feelings of self-worth. He couldn't figure out his new role in the team now that he wasn't the leader. He refused to talk about them, because he didn't want Leo to think he didn't deserve to be leader. So Raph bottled up his emotions and festered.
He's still the lovable teddybear we've grown to love from Rise, but he became very angry over the next year, and he began to lash out. However, when he saw how this was hurting his brothers, both emotionally and physically, he found a different outlet. And in that, he decided on his role for the team.
He designated himself as their shield. He took the hits, and dished them out twice as hard. His strength was soon unparalleled, and he struck fear into any opponent they encountered.
After the rise of Shredder (nearly 3 years after Donnie's kidnapping), however, Raph sustained severe injuries from their first battle. This resulted in many scars all over his body, a cracked shell and plastron, broken-off spikes, and the near-loss of his right eye, which lost about 80% of its vision.
He still struggles with his anger, even after all of this, but Raph has also become much more self-aware, as well as aware of his team at all times. He's gotten very good at reading others, and has decided to learn how to work with first-aid in the hopes of also becoming the team's medic.
Mikey developed an unnamed illness when he was 17 (4 years after Donnie's kidnapping, and just a few months before bringing him home). This illness attacked his eyes.
It started with a gradual loss in vision. Things were blurry, and eventually light began to look like smears and streakes. Colors began to dull.
Then began the headaches. It started in his temples, but would eventually come to settle in his eyes, and after another month or so, it started to feel like needles prodding around his pupils.
Nobody in the family knew what to do for him aside from medication, which did not work. No doctors were able to figure out what the problem was, and all they could do was perscribe pain meds. By the 3-month mark, Mikey had become completely blind.
About 6 months into the development of this illness, which was two months after Donnie came home, Mikey's eyes began to physically deteriorate. They were essentially rotting. It was incredibly painful, to the point where he eventually begged Donnie to remove them.
Mikey still sometimes feels some pain from this illness, but after the removal of his eyes, the affected areas had stopped spreading, and he was deemed clear of thr illness itself. However, he is very prone to other illnesses and infections, and spends much of his time in bed.
Despite these hardships, Mikey is still an incredibly valuable member of the team. While his vision is long-gone, his other senses have raised exponentially, to the point where one could forget that he can no longer see. He often uses his mystic weapon as a "service dog" of sports, and it has essentially become his new eyes. He's now a master of stealth, and prides himself in his ability to catch any enemy off guard.
I still need to figure out how the other characters fit into this AU, haha.
So, there's the basic idea behind the Rogue/Post-Rogue AU. In the current events, Mikey is 18, Donnie and Leo are 19, and Raph is 20.
If there's anything else you'd like to know about this AU, I'd be more than happy to answer any questions!
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calliecat93 · 6 years ago
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Callie Reviews: TMNT 2012 Season One (Part One)
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Ever since 1984, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise has gone form a cult-status indie comic to a massive mass market. There have been various comics, movies, video games, merchandise, and of course cartoons. And it’s easy to see why. TMNT’s concept, a group of mutated teen turtles fighting evil in New York, is both incredibly bizarre and incredibly appealing to a mass audience. You have action, science fiction, martial arts, and of course plenty of mutant ideas to make toys out of. The fact that this Fall will be releasing the fourth animated TMNT series and that a new movie series is in production shows that even over 30 years later, this is a franchise that is far from losing it’s power.
As a kid, I of course knew that Turtles as a thing and I even watch parts of 2k3. But I was never really a fan until the day I stumbled upon the 2012 show. I fell in love with it and, since it started when I was just starting this blog, it was a huge focus for me for several years. I have since moved on and while I’m going to check out the 2018 show, I don’t think I’m going to be as crazy as I was with this show (but never say never). Back in 2012, I was someone who... lets say ignored the flaws and defended the show far too passive aggressively to the point that looking at my older stuff makes me want to blow up by blog. 
Nowadays, while some of my opinions hold true (like the ‘Donnie is a stalker’ accusations are still bullshit), I am more willing to admit the shows problems, especially now that I can take the show in fully. I also like to believe that I’ve become a better reviewer since I was 19 years old, plus it had been far too long since I went back over the show form the very beginning. So does the show still hold up? Will 25 year old Callie feel differently than 19 year old Callie did? Well we’re about to find out. This is the TMNT 2012 Season One Review!
The Premiere (Episodes 1-2)
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Our story begins with a training sequence that introduces us to the titular Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello, and Michelangelo. Along with some minor character establishment, like Mikey being the funny one and Raph the violent one, the biggest thing here is one of the shows strengths: the choreography. It’s best exhibited in Leo and Raph’s duel. The movements are very fluid and well-paced. It’s fast, but not too fast, it’s enough to move things along but still let you take in all the impacts. It’s very well done. Raph ends up winning and we are introduce to the boys mentor and father, Master Splinter. Aka, the best written character int he show, but we’ll get to that later.
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After the opening theme, we cut to the boys 15th Mutation Day where we get our backstory. Borrowing from the 80′s show origin, Splinter was once a young man named Hamato Yoshi. He had just bought four pet turtles when he stumbled across a shady dealing. Being a ninja master, he was able to fight back, but he ended up getting splattered with a strange green substance. This turned him into a rat, as one brushed his ankle while the baby Turtles become anthropomorphic. Yoshi, taking on the name Splinter, fled to the sewers and raised the four turtles as his own as well as taught them ninjutsu. It’s a simple, but still solid telling of the origin that pays tribute to previous origins, leaves some mystery about the substance and who was dealing it, and is told with use of comic-style panels reminiscent of the original comics.
The Turtles, having lived in the sewers since their mutation, are hoping to convince Splinter to let them finally go to the surface. After some begging, Splinter reluctantly agrees. We then cut to Leo watching a Star Trek: The Animated Series parody where we learn of his desire to become a great hero and leader. This is interesting for several reasons. One, it establishes that Leo isn’t the leader of the group yet, a departure form normal as he’s normally put into that role automatically. And second, ti does a great job at character establishment. In previous versions, Leo is often seen as the boring, overly leader type. Not a bad character mind you, but he lacks the quirkiness that the tough Raph, genius Donnie, and wild child Mikey present. Here? Leo is shown to be an idealistic, naive, but good-intention kid who aspires to be a great hero like he sees on TV as well as give shim some dorky characteristics, like quoting cheesy one-liners to sound more heroic. It helps make him more relateable, funny, and sets up a character arc for when he does inevitably become the leader. Very well done.
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The boys finally go to the surface, and are in awe of what they see. They even discover their trademark favorite food, pizza. Given that they only ever ate worms and algae until this point, it makes their love of it all the more understandable. But not all goes well as they soon witness a group of business men kidnapping a red-haired teenager and her father. They attempt to help, but end up only beating each other up and the bad guys get away with their captives. Mikey ends up beating up one and discovers... a brain with tentacles... yipe... he tries to tell the other three, but they don’t believe him. A common trend in the show.
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Upon returning home, the boys try to blame each other for the failure before Splinter accepts it for not giving them proper training as a team. While he considers keeping them down below for another year, Donnie convinces him to let them go help the girl due to seeing how terrified she was and how they failed to help her... and because of the crush he developed in a record five seconds. Splinter agrees, but first assigns Leo as the official leader, much to the ire of Raph. They’re eventually able to find the kidnappers vehicle and wreck it, capturing the driver named Snake and they discover a vat of a glowing green substance. A vat that they recognize as the same one that caused their original mutation.
Snake, after Raph threatens to mutate him, leads the boys to the facility where the captives are... and uses the boys bickering as a chance to escape. Leo uses this to trick the crook into thinking that they’re going to plow his van into the place as he conducts a plan to sneak in. All while Roah is an asshole who refuses to listen and outright undermines Leo’s orders. Yeah, Raph is a real jerk during this season. FYI. When Leo shows hesitance about his plan, Splinter tells him of his final confrontation against his rival Oroku Saki, aka The Shredder. It ended in his wife being killed, his house burning down, and his infant daughter nowhere to be found. Well, that won’t be important in any way, shape, or form later! The point being that he lost everything, but gained the boys, easing Leo’s worries about how much is riding on the plan.
So yeah the boys crash the van, Snake gets mutated, the boys break in, fight some guards, and Mikey proves that he isn’t crazy about the aliens.. and then trips an alarm. Smooth Mikey, smooth. They find the captives, that being this version of April O’Neil and her scientist father. Now in most versions, April is an adult woman. Here? She is aged down and is around sixteen years old. We’ll talk more about that later. The bad guys, aka The Kraang, take the captives away and as the boys give chase,t hey are confronted by the mutant Snake... who is a weed monster. Hey, that’s breaking supervillain rules writers! If you have an evil sounding name, that’s what you turn into! Donnie is sent to rescue the O’Neil’s as the other three face Snakeweed... Mikey’s idea, not mine.
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The boys eventually defeat Snake via Leo’s direction and mass electrocution while Donnie is able to rescue April, but her father is taken away. April plans to find him however, no matter what it takes with the boys promising to help in whatever way they can. Once home, Leo finds out the complex reasoning for why he was named the leader over everyone else... because he asked. Ming-boggling, right? Well there is actually another reason, but we’ll talk about this in S4. The boys also made the news as their shruriken got found, but come on, what could one tiny news story do that would be bad? Well... being seen by your master’s worst enemy and re-igniting his lust for vengeance might count! Woopsie!
Overall, a solid two parter. It establishes the characters well, has fun fight scenes, the animation is a little dated now but still pretty good, the dialogue is funny, and it does a good job setting up future plotlines while fulfilling it’s own plot. It started 2k12 off on the right foot and was still enjoyable over five years since it’s initial premiere.
The Beginning (Episodes 3-8)
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The episodes following the premiere create a steady flow of creating the status quo. You have episodes like Turtle Temper, Metalhead, and Monkey Brains (kinda) that have the boys dealing with the Kraang’s Plan of the Week as they continue their mutagen experiments. It helps with character development and some minor plot progression, such as Raph learning how dangerous his anger can be and Donnie learning to rely on his instincts rather than on his mind 100% of the time. Some are going to want me to comment on the shipping stuff, But I’m gonna save that for later. The biggest issue with these episodes, aside from Monkey Brains, is the Kraang. They are not interesting as villains at all. As great a VA as Nolan North is, the Kraang’s way of talking just gets... annoying. It doesn't help that the threat ultimately becomes either an accidental mutant or Donnie’s robot... well okay a Kraang possessed the later, but it shows that those are more interesting villains than the Kraang themselves and they exist mroe to just have an excuse for a plot. It’s really irking after awhile.
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As far as plot goes, it’s mostly your usual ‘Monster of the Week’ stuff. But it has some small things that have a larger impact later. For one, in Monkey Brains, April begins to tap into what looks like some strong emphatic abilities. More on this next season. But due to this, Splinter decides to take April on as a student and train her to be a kunoichi (a female ninja). This will be the largest part of her character for the remainder of the series. April herself... is not utilized as well as she could have been in these early episodes. She’s described as the boys guide to the outside world, and she does serve that in some respects. For example, introducing Mikey to social media in New Friend, Old Enemy to let him make friends without exposing his mutant identity. And in Never Say Xever she takes them to a blind man’s shop so that they can actually experience life topside for once. The issue is we never see April establish bonds with the boys or Splinter after her introduction. In New Friend, Old Enemy she just acts like she’s been friends with the guys for awhile and after showing Mikey the net, doesn’t appear or is even mentioned in the episode again. She disappears after her importance in Metalhead as well, but she is given mroe to work with there at least. I glossed over this when I was watching the show and April does get mroe time with the guys, her relationship with Splinter being one of my favorites. Still, they didn’t do a lot with having April become part of the group or really act on her role as their ‘guide’ and I feel they just wanted to ignore it to get to the other stuff. Which is just a bummer.
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So you’re probably wondering about Shredder stuff, right? Well thankfully the Foot Episodes are also the most plot relevant episodes. It starts with New Friend, Old Enemy where Shredder arrives in New York and assigns one of his lieutenants, a famous martial artist named Chris Bradford, to find out about Splinter. The Foot end up encountering the Turtles, with Bradford later using this to manipulate Mikey after accidentally becoming online friends with him. He captures him and use shim as bait to lure out the other three and then follow them to where Splinter is hiding. It fails with the boys using their knowledge of the sewers to literally wash Bradford and his partner, Xever, away. Along with the dangers of meeting people you don’t really know on social media, the episode presents a very unique lesson. In a fight for your life, screw fairness, You fight by any means necessary to stay alive, including fighting dirty. Most shows emphasize on being fair, but this one actually acknowledges that if your life is on the line, you do what it takes to get out alive. It’s a unique message for a kids show and one that I really appreciate.
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Next is Never Say Xever where Xever gets to lead the charge. After the boys track down the two and get beat up, Xever receives inlet from the Purple Dragons, who int his version are pretty much a trio of teen thugs. The Turtles fought them off earlier at the shop April took them to, with Leo sparing the leader as an act of mercy. Something that Raph takes umbridge with... as he does with most anything that Leo does in the first half of the series. It’s no surprise that Leo and Raph butt heads, as they do in most series, and it follows their respective arcs. Leo having to deal with being leader as well as realizing that it’s much more pressuring and unforgiving than he thought, while Raph act son his jealousy that Leo got the position even though he’s the better fighter and therefore questioning Leo’s orders or outright just being an asshole for no good reason. But after the shop owner is kidnapped to lure the Turtles out, Leo’s act of mercy ends up saving them as the lead Dragon repays the favor by throwing him back his discarded sword. Which Leo uses to break a water tower to wash the bad guys away again. Angered, The Shredder decides to handle the Turtles himself.
The episodes do a good job in establishing a solid status quo. Bad guy does a thing, one character has their B-Plot to deal with, there’s a clash, the plots intertwine, bad guy gets defeated, and the lesson of the day is learned. A simple routine, but it works here. Plus we get plenty of character establishment and moments which makes you care about them. For example even though Raph is a massive jerk, the end of New Friend, Old Enemy has his comfort Mikey after the deceit and have him see that he’s a good kid who simply got duped as anyone else would. With this being after Raph mocked him wanting to make friends throughout the episode, it helped show that he does have a caring side. Leo frequently has issues with being a leader, such as dealing with Raph and moments like in ITHNiBS where the guys outright refuse to listen to him when he tries to remind them that they’re grounded. Even Splinter has a lot of moments, being a stern but fair parental figure and wise mentor, but is also snarky as Hell. We also see hints to how much the past has affected him, like after April agrees to undergo kunoichi training and leaves the dojo, there’s just a brief moment where he looks down with a forlorn expression. As though wishing that he was telling this to his own MIA daughter. It’s so subtle, but it speaks volumes about his emotional state. 
The characters are ultimately what makes these episodes works and what I would say is the strongest part of the series. You are likely going to relate to or like someone from this show and their progression. But now that we have a fully formed status quo, it’s time to shake it up a little bit and have the Turtles experience their first hard dose of reality.
The Escalation (Epsidoes 9-13)
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Episode 9 begins as a typical ‘Mutant of the Week’ plot with the guys trying to catch a pigeon mutant that was after April. But when they do, they discover that he was simply trying to deliver a message... from her father. The message warns her to get out of the city due to a mutagen bomb, but she refuses to leave without him. As such,t he Turtles... somehow... find where Mr. O’Neil is and try to save him. While they get him out of the cell and get the location of the bomb, Mr. O’Neil sacrifices himself when the Kraang outnumber them so that the boys can protect April. All while poor April can only watch, helpless to do anything. Ouch...
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The Turtles can only go to where the bomb is to disarm it, but things get further complicated when Bradford and Xever attack, wanting payback from before. Fortunately Donnie disarms the bomb and the four corner the two, but Bradford refuse sot go down quietly and stabs the bomb, but all it does is mutate himself and Xever. But ti also washes them away.... again. I should also point out that this point,t he Turtles have gotten incredibly over-confident since they’ve beaten every bad guy so far, feeling unstoppable. So then... Shredder arrives. Yep. And he kicks their shells HARD. Liek he holds no punches, he easily over-powers all four of them and almost stabs Leo int he head. The only reason that they escape is Shredder getting distracted by his now mutated lieutenants. But the boys retreat, badly beaten up and completely demoralized.
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The next episode focuses on the fallout. The four are mostly feeling better, but their fears are being escalated by, of all people, Splinter. This is due to the boys nearly getting killed by his long-time rival re-igniting his own trauma and having nightmares over losing them, causing him to again keep them in the sewers and be far more harsh with his training. The only one doing moderately well is April, who gets intel about the Foot planning to destroy the sewers. The Turtles try to stop it, but get pounded by Bradford, who is now a giant dog mutant named Dogpound. This forces April to get the inlet herself, but she gets caught an captured by the Foot. This further brings Leo down, but to his surprise Raph actually encourages him to pull himself together and lead the team. The Turtles manage to both save April and stop the Foot from destroying the sewers with Splinter apologizing for allowing his fears to affect both himself and his sons. Overall, a solid pair of episodes that bring the boys down a bit, finally has all the plots meet somewhere, and deliver a strong message about not letting fear control you or the others around you.
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After a filler episode where the only importance is Shredder forcibly recruiting Stockman to his forces, we get some more Kraang stuff with Episode 12. Where we actually show them being dangerous. Shocker, right?! It also introduces us to long-time supporting character within the franchise  Leatherhead. Here he is an alligator mutant who the Kraang experimented on and it causes him to have violent fits of rage if he so much as hears the word ‘Kraang’. The Turtles end up saving him when the Kraang try to re-capture him, but find his angry bursts, well... dangerous. But Mikey is able to befriend him and it becomes more clear that LH is actually a rather intelligent, good-hearted mutant who has been put through Hell. He gets run off by Splinter though when one of his trauma-induced bursts causes him to attack the boys, forcing the rat master to intervene. Mikey, and by proxy the other three, give chase to an old subway car where LH reveals how the Kraang took him to their home, Dimension X, and experimented on him. He escaped and also took their Power Cell, cutting them off form Dimension X, in hopes of saving humanity from them. The Kraang want it back and act like a zombie swarm as they break through the car. LH fights them off, leaving the Power Cell in the Turtles care.
While Episode 11 sucks (to put it simply Leo and Raph are overbearing assholes while Donnie and Mikey are just made to be as weak as possible), the other three do a good job at making the villains more solid threats. Shredder was built up as intimidating and powerful, and boy did he deliver. The Turtles face their first major loss and have to deal with the fallout, Leo especially dealing with his first real failure as a leader. Even the Kraang come off as a scarier hivemind and we get mroe stuff on them, like Dimension X and their plans to mutate the Earth. Add that with a strong supporting character like Leatherhead, who is understandably traumatized but is an intelligent being who is trying to prevent others form suffering like him. and it helps make some strong episodes.
The first half of the season concludes with the 13th episodes... that aired as the 14th for some reason. But I’m going in order of my DVD’s and this was after Episode 12, so it’s what I’m going with. It both concludes a lot and opens up a lot for the future. The episode I am talking about is, of course New Girl in Town.
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TBC in Part Two....
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thenerdytomboynewb96 · 6 years ago
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Samantha Allan Park Ch. 52
Any references to TMNT or anything from popular media and culture is NOT MINE. I only own my OC's. Any references to “TMNT Out of the Shadows” DO NOT BELONG TO ME. Only my additions that I came up with myself belong to me. Anything from the films or other series ARE NOT MINE, only my OC’s and my ideas that I have added onto the story FOR FUN. Thank you.
Chapter #52
Saturday, March 19th, 2016. Last day of family vacation
All throughout the week the women had been swimming/boogie boarding/jet skiing in the ocean, jumping on trampolines, climbing rock walls, working out in the gym, sliding down water slides, playing various sports, having dance parties, playing video games (some of which were very interactive) and so much more throughout the week. After spending a week completing multiple physical activities, the ladies in the group wanted one night where they could all just kick back and relax by themselves. They were outnumbered after all. There were 4 women and there were 9 guys (not including the children) so they had been keeping up with all the active men in the group, so they needed a break. Even Sam agreed that a nice relaxing girls night was needed, so the women decided to get comfortable in their bathing suits and hangout in one of the vacant rooms.
It was the last night that everyone was on vacation, so the ladies wanted to hang out in one of the hot tubs in one of the vacant rooms where they could all be alone. All the guys had had their boy’s night the previous night, and there were multiple times where it had happened to just be groups of guys all throughout the trip, so the men agreed to babysit and hangout where they wouldn’t interfere with the women’s night off.
Of course, new mother Brenda was constantly worrying about her children. “Should I call and see how they’re doing?” she asked as she eyed her phone from afar. “Honey, your husband is amazing, and he is surrounded by men who are also amazing. The kids are perfectly fine. I just know it” Irma reassured. “Still-” “Oh my god mom sit back and relax!” Sam teased her sister in law. “I thought I was your mom” April teased. “You’re both my mom. You’re secret lesbian lovers and you both raise me behind Jay’s back. Although, Casey has been playing an older brother role. Never mind, April you’re my older sister and Casey’s my brother in law, which means Brenda’s my step mom” Sam said through a wide smile. “Guess that still makes me grammy” Irma said. Each woman had a mixed drink in their hand (though they weren’t going to tell the guys that Sam was drinking underage) and they were having a hell of a good time joking and holding conversations they could never have when the guys were around.
“So grammy” Brenda teased, “how are things between you and lover boy?” she asked as she took a sip of her drink. “Stopppppp” she said as she gently nudged her daughter. “He’s sweet, but he has no idea how I feel.” “Then tell him” Sam said bluntly. “Pshh, you’re one to talk” Irma said with her hand on her hip. Sam shot the woman a funny yet confused look while she was drinking her own mixed drink. “I’m sorry, but what the hell are you talking about?” Sam said, sassily moving her body as she asked her question. “Well you haven’t told Kris how you feel, so how do you have any right telling me how to handle my love life?” Irma asked with a laugh. “Oh Sam doesn’t like Kris” April cut in. Irma and Brenda both turned towards each other and shot each other evil grins. “Oh really?” Brenda asked. “And why not?” “Really? We’re gonna dip into the dark past that we all already know about?” Sam asked. “Man, I shipped the hell out of you two” Irma said, playfully pouting in the corner of the hot tub. “Are you sure that’s the only reason why you don’t like Kris anymore?” Brenda asked. “Okay what’s happening? And ew stop looking at me like that” Sam said as she saw the weirdly wicked smiles on the two Asian women’s faces. She then turned and saw that April had the same smile on her face. “Okay you people need to start talking! I’m utterly confused.” “You like one of the turtle boys” Brenda said bluntly. Sam leaned forward awkwardly as if asking ‘what the fuck.’ “I’m sorry, but I think I misheard you. You did not just state that I like one of MY BROTHERS” she emphasized. “Oh come on! The way you are with each of them, you have to have a crush on one of them. There’s no way you don’t at least like one of them!” Irma stated. “Wow Irma, tell us how you really feel” Sam said, resting her chin on her hand as her elbow rested on her knee. “She’s not the only one who thinks that” April said, looking off in the distance as she stirred her straw in her drink. “You’ve gotta be kidding me. Not you to! Come on April you know me and the guys are like family!” “Hey I’m not the one you need to convince” April said, biting her lip, knowing that her comment was going to get the teen riled up. “Okay. I need reasons. Key details here people. What the hell has happened that I MUST be in love with ONE. OF. MY. BROTHERS” Sam emphasized, throwing her hands out in front of her (in a ‘what are those type stance) as she stated each word at the end of her sentence. “Well ladies, who would like to go first?” April asked. “Meeeee!” Brenda stated as she raised her hand up. “So I think you and Donnie have a connection.” “How? Just, how?” Sam groaned, sliding down some and leaning her back along the side of the hot tub. “Because you two were literally cuddling the other night.” “What?” Sam asked as she sat up some. “He was laying in the hammock and you were literally cuddled up with him. His arm was around you and everything! And you looked very comfortable snuggled up next to him as well. Explain yourself” Irma stated sternly, although it was obvious that she was teasing the younger woman. Sam just sat there for a few seconds, speechless. “Is…is that not normal?” she asked honestly. “NO!” Irma stated. “I second that no” Brenda said. “But, that’s just like, what I do with all of them.” Now all three women were staring at Sam with wide eyes. “What? They’re like brothers but they’re also just guy friends. Like every once in a while that just happens. They’re literally my best friends, I feel comfortable with all of them. They wouldn’t do anything inappropriate” Sam said with a genuine and innocent smile. “Girl that’s not the point! You can’t just cuddle with all the guys you know!” Brenda announced. “But I only do that with the four of them. It’s usually only when I have nightmares, and that’s usually because the nightmares are about them.” “Really? What happens?” Irma asked. “Ummmmm I’ve followed through with killing Raph, I have-” Irma then literally spit her drink. “WHAT?! Followed through?! When did you try to kill him?” “Remember? When I went all depressed once the turtles learned I was in the Foot? And then Raph when berserk and that made me go hulk times ten on his ass?” “Ahhhh right. Continue” Irma waved on. “Um, I have nightmares that Raph fights back and hurts me, I have nightmares where the others get revenge because I hurt Raph, I have nightmares where I hurt all of them, things like that. But they’re all really understanding whenever they happen. All four of them are just really great supportive guys.” “Yet you like none of them” Brenda sneered. “Nope” Sam said with the click of her tongue. “So that’s really the only reason you think I like Donnie?” “You tease him a lot” Brenda added. “I tease them all a lot.” “She does” April nodded. “What about Raph?” Irma asked. “I’m tied between whether or not you like him or Leo.” “What the hell how?!” Sam laughed as she slumped back once again. “Because he’s like, calmer around you. Like obviously now we all know that he’s really a good guy, but he’s scary when you first meet him. Granted he also knows that and once he gets to know people and once people get to know him in return, he is a sweet and fun guy. But he’s like, different with you.” “Because I’m a cold bitch who will put him in his place. April does the same thing and he respected her way before I came around.” “That’s true to” April said, tilting and nodding her head. “Which is something I’m now just realizing.” “What?” Sam asked. “He treats women respectfully regardless, but he’s tougher on women with strength of some sort who aren’t afraid of him. Then when those women prove how tough they really are, he changes and respects them quickly. He was kind of nasty with me when I first met the guys on that roof top and snapped their picture. I displayed myself as a woman who wasn’t afraid to go snooping to get information for my news reports and he made it clear he didn’t like that. If they had saved me from a robber then knowing him he would have reacted to me in a way that was the opposite of how he actually reacted. Like he just wanted to get the heck out of there and leave me there by myself, but once I proved that I cared about them and would fight to help them out, he completely changed.” “Buttttt that doesn’t mean you’re in love with him!” Sam said, taking a huge gulp of her drink and placing the empty cup to the side. “Dang slow down. Youngest one of us to” Brenda teased. “Oh I’m gonna need more than that to get through this conversation. And we’re only two brothers in.” “Leo’s turn!” Brenda announced. “Go for it. Enlighten me.” “He’s nice to you” Irma said. “You say that a lot when you’re tipsy” Sam said, the sass emanating from the way she blinked her eyes. “But you have to know what I mean! Like he’s soft with you.” “Yeah, like at their birthday dinner last year. He got upset over something and of course after talking with you for a while, he returned, good as new. As if he was never upset in the first place” Brenda added. “Gee, sounds like something, I dunno, a sister might do” Sam replied with wide and annoyed eyes. “But it happens so often. Oh but that happens with you and Raph to!” Brenda added, her tipsiness adding to her random bursts of excitement. “Because they know they can trust me! They each have literally told me that they can confide in each other when they’re really upset about something, but minor things they talk to me about. You know, the whole stereotypical thing about guys not talking to guys about their problems unless they’re THAT upset about something and it’s literally mentally killing them.” “See it’s tough to narrow it down!” Irma exclaimed. “They all talk to you like you’re ‘one of the guys’ and tease you and wrestle and stuff like you’re a guy. But then I’ve heard them be kind and gentle with you as well. They help you when you need it, but they prank you as well. Ughhhh maybe you’re just dating all of them” Brenda sighed. “Yup. I just love mutants so much that I can’t keep my hands off of them” Sam said, throwing her head back and taking another long sip of a wine cooler. “Alright, who’s gonna tell me why I like Mikey?” Sam asked, beginning to feel tipsy herself. “Oh let me guess, because he’s my partner in crime, right? Because he’s my best friend and the reason I’m still alive? Literally, since he knew the word to trigger the mutagen to enter my body. Oh! Or because he was the only one that defended me when everyone else turned on me, although that wasn’t their fault. I did almost destroy Raph’s face. Oh and there’s the fact that-” “You were holding hands with him when you came back to life” April softly cut in.
Sam froze, staring down at the water in front of her. In the corner of her eye she could see Brenda and Irma pursing their lips as they heard the new information. “Well. That one was unexpected” Sam stated bluntly. “I didn’t realize anyone had even noticed that” Sam said as she slowly turned her head towards April. “Guess you’ve been holding onto that information for a while now, huh?” Sam asked. April nodded her head. “I was the only one who didn’t join the group hug, so I happened to see it from afar. I never said anything because I didn’t want to make things awkward…and I was interested to see what resulted afterwards” April said, taking a small sip of her drink. “EXPLAIN NOW!” Brenda said with a wide smile. “What’s to explain? My best friend had saved me for what felt like the millionth time that night! I was happy to be alive and I was grateful for what he had done for me.” “What were the other ways that he had saved you?” Irma asked, genuinely interested in the details that she did not fully know about. “Well…” Sam paused, recollecting everything from what now would have been just under 2 years ago. “He put his trust in me and I was able to prevent Karai from hurting them and then myself as I launched a whip at him but then froze it in time and OH that’s also a nightmare! That that tactic failed. Uh, he jumped in front of me when a bunch of purple dragons started shooting at me. He helped me walk to safety when I was standing on a tiny little rail. And then he was the only one who knew how to bring me back to life, and then he had the guts to try and calm me down when the mutagen first entered my body…why are you all looking at me like that?” Sam asked in an annoyed tone. “He likes you” Brenda said with menacing eyes. “He’s my best friend! He cares about me the same way that the others do! They all treat me the same way. I can list examples where I’ve had emotional talks with all four of them, when I’ve teased all four of them, when I’ve argued with all four of them. You all are fighting for details that are not there! Like I could literally ask all four of them to marry me and they would all say no” Sam said, smiling in frustration as she shook her head. The other three women were smiling as a tempting idea swirled inside their minds. “Why don’t we put this to the test then?” April asked. “Hm?” Sam asked, raising her brows at the woman. “Let’s call each of them up here, one at a time, and ask them to marry you. Right here on the spot” April asked. “Oh they’re never going to let us have a girl’s night ever again” Sam groaned. “That’s a yes!” Brenda cheered as she grabbed her phone from a side table and texted Leo to come to their room.
A couple minutes later, the leader in blue appeared. “Everything okay?” “Nope” Sam groaned. Leo looked confused, and then looked very worried when he saw the look on Brenda’s and Irma’s faces. “Ask the question Samantha” Brenda said in a coy tone. “sigh Hey Leo let’s get married. Like tomorrow. What do you say?” Sam asked. Leo narrowed his eyes at the women. “Are you all drunk?” “Answer the question” Brenda stated. “That’s a yes” Sam stated. “Okay. So why are exactly are we getting married?” “Because I just love you so much. Can’t you see that?” Sam said with a very blank, emotionless expression. Leo smiled and shook his head. “In all due respect, I’d rather not get married. You’re not quite my type” Leo stated, a bit of amusement in his voice since he was not expecting to have this conversation ever. “Dually noted and youuuu have a type?” Sam asked, her tone changing from annoyed to curious very quickly as she went from avoiding the turtles gaze to looking him straight in the eye and crossing her arms on the side of the hot tub. “Have a nice night ladies” Leo said as he smiled and began to walk away. “We’re having this conversation later!” Sam called after her friend. “SEND RAPH!” Irma shouted after him. “Oh I will” Leo said. He was very interested to hear from his younger brother after he had his turn dealing with the tipsy bunch.
A couple minutes later, Raph entered the room. “Why am I here?” he groaned. “Hey Raph!” Sam announced, an annoyed smile displayed on her face. “Wanna get married?” “Why?” he asked sourly. “Because we’re meant to be” Sam said, blinking her eyes. “No” he groaned. “Jay know you’ve been drinking?” “They made me do it!” Sam pointed to the women sitting across from her. “Cool. Can I go now?” “Man! No one wants to marry you Sam. My heart hurts” Brenda said as she pouted and slumped back some. “Ahh, so that explains Leo’s smirking face. Jerk” Raph mumbled with a frown, annoyed that his brother knew what was in store for him and decided not to tell him a damn thing. “So why don’t you want to marry Sam, Raph” Brenda asked with a coy smile. “Oh here we go” Sam said as she rolled her eyes. Raph shrugged. “She’s cool, but she’s not my type.” “What the hell?! You have a type to?!” Sam announced, splashing her hands in the water. “Heh, we can’t tell you everything. Anyway, I’m out. I’ll send Donnie” Raph said as he left the room.
“Dude, this sucks! I didn’t know they had types! The only one I know has a type is Mikey and that’s because he’s made his type extremely clear!” “So what’s his type then?” April asked curiously. “Obviously curvy women that are outgoing and wear little to nothing” Sam said with a chuckle. “And how do you know this?” April asked, crossing her arms in front of her. “Because he’s a total flirt. He flirts with you every time he sees you. That’s why…” Sam trailed off, realizing she just started a conversation she did not want to have. “FINISH. THE. STATEMENT” Brenda demanded. Sam pursed her lips. “Do I have to?” Brenda calmed herself when she saw how truly uneasy this made Sam feel. “No. Of course not. I’m sorry Sam.” Sam sighed. “Can I trust that you guys will act normal if I tell you?” “Of course” Irma said. “What’s bothering you.” “Well…there was this time when I entered the lair and Mikey was flirting it up with April and he was telling you something” she said as she turned towards April “and I could just sense the change in his expression when he saw me and knew that he had to end the conversation so that he could spend time with me, since knowing him, he would have thought it was rude to ignore me and continue to flirt. So, because of that, I purposefully kinda leave the room when I sense he’s getting flirty with you so that I don’t get in his way. Like he’s literally told me that he knows you’re like a sister and he would never go overboard and be rude, but he’s also teased that it’s just in his nature.” “Why have you never told me this?” April asked, truly upset that Sam had hid this information from her for so long. Sam shrugged. “It just wasn’t important. I mean I know it’s just who he is-” “But he did something that upset you. Does he even know?” April asked. “No!” Sam responded within a second of the question being asked. “You can’t tell ANY OF THEM that I just told you all that! That stays between the four of us. Please don’t tell anyone” Sam said. This was the first time the women could sense that Sam was really upset with something that had been discussed that night, and they knew that this was something that truly bothered her. “We won’t tell a soul sweetie. We’ll take it to the grave” Brenda said soothingly. “But, don’t you think he would want to know?” April asked. “I’m sure he didn’t mean to hurt you.” Sam sent her a sad smile. “I know he would never mean to hurt me, and knowing him he didn’t realize what he did or how I felt when it happened. But I feel like it would make things weird between the two of us, and I don’t want him getting any wrong ideas. And I mean he’s allowed to be flirty and playful. Who am I to say something that would make him change who he is? That’s not fair-”
Sam stopped talking once the door opened. Donnie entered the room very awkwardly. “I’ve been informed this will be an awkward encounter” he stated as he slowly swung his arms back and forth. “Yup! We’re getting married. That cool with you?” Sam asked bluntly. Donnie shook his head in confusion. “I’m sorry, what?” “I love you, so love me back!” Sam stated. “How drunk are you?” he asked with a laugh. “Geez, I ask men to marry me and they all accuse me of being drunk. Such compliments” she said as she stuck her tongue out at him. “This isn’t a real proposal…right?” he asked. “Of course not! These drunk ditz’s made me ask” Sam said as she rolled her eyes. “And I swear if you say you have a ‘type’ that you haven’t told me about then I’m going to kick your ass along with your older brothers.” “Well, I’ll sleep with one eye open then” Donnie said with a smile. “Motherfucker” Sam mumbled. “Is that all the random for the day?” Donnie asked. “Yup! Send the baby brother in!” Brenda said. Donnie sighed and left the room, feeling more comfortable now that that question was out of the way.
“So back to what you were saying” Brenda stated. “Do you really think it would be that bad if you told him of something that happened once?” she asked. “Well, he made that face once…but that’s because I’ve prevented myself from being put in a situation like that again, hehe.” “Sam…” April started, “is there anything I can do to help?” Sam tilted her head to the side. “Help with what?” “You know, your crush on Mikey” April stated. “No, no-no. There is no crush. Just not wanting to get in a guy friends way. That’s all” Sam stated quickly. “Sam-” “Look, it’s not a romantic thing, it’s just one of those odd situations that come up when having guy friends. It’s happened to me back in the day as kids as well. There’s obviously times where the guys are going to talk about how much they like the pretty girls that are the opposite of me, and usually I talk to the guys about it as well because I’m cool like that. I don’t mind hearing guys share their feelings about women, and usually I add my input and advice to give to them as well. It’s just odd when you’re in the way of them flirting. Like, it’s one of those things where as the female friend you have to know when to respect the guys needs and feelings and stuff, you know?” “Are you sure? You can be honest here sweetie. You have our support” April reassured, with Brenda and Irma nodding in unison to these claims. Sam smiled. “Thank you. But I swear it’s just one of those situations. I know that’s who he is and as his best friend I respect those boundaries. Hell, I’d bet money that the first thing he does when he gets here is compliment everyone in some way and he’ll come in here all energetic unlike the other three. That’s just who he is.”
And right on cue, Mikey entered. “Wassup ladies? I must say you all look lovely tonight” he said, strutting into the room and sitting on the edge of the tub so that he could place his feet in (he made sure to inform them that his feet were clean before doing so). “4th times a charm” Sam mumbled to herself, “Michelangelo, will you marry me?” she asked with literally no emotion as she continued to face the women in the hot tub rather than turn and face the man in the room. Mikey sensed this and was confused as to what was happening, but shrugged and answered honestly with an “okay.” Sam paused. “What?” she asked. She squinted her eyes in confusion, but she was sitting at an angle where as she faced the rest of the women in the hot tub, Mikey couldn’t see her expression, so he continued to answer honestly. “I mean hey if you’re asking, I’m not gonna say no.” “Explain!” Brenda stated, crossing her arms. ‘Heh, women are interesting when they’re tipsy in packs’ Mikey thought to himself. “Well” he began, “Sam and I have a lot of similar interests. She actually listens to me unlike my brothers” he said as he rolled his eyes. “Sam trusts me, she knows I’m not actually a ditz…yeah I’d pull a Phoebe and Joey and marry her in the future. But I’m confused as to why I’m being asked this when Sam can date literally anyone.” “Okay first, what does Phoebe and Joey mean?” April asked. “Okay so there’s this episode of Friends where they talk about how if they reach a certain age and they’re not married then Phoebe and Joey would get married…oh right she said she would marry Ross to” he said, looking upwards as he tried to remember how the episode played out. “What do you mean I can date literally anyone?” Sam cut in rather harshly, now turning towards Mikey as she spoke. “Ugh, we have to have this conversation again?” he groaned. “You’re obviously pretty Sam. Tomboy’s have attractive qualities to. Have some confidence in yourself” he said as he turned to leave the room. “Well, I hope you all continue to have a fun night ladies” he said with a wink, “I’m gonna head back down to the dance party we were holding downstairs.” He then shut the door behind him and the room grew silent.
“We have a winner” Brenda whispered into her glass. “You okay?” April asked in concern. Sam chuckled. “I’d also bet money that he thinks all his brothers answered that question in a similar way that he just did. If he knew his brothers answered differently, then he wouldn’t have said what he just did. “But he spoke honestly and he said yes” Irma said softly. “Are you okay with that?” “He’s a flirt, so that literally meant nothing. Am I allowed to explain to them later why we asked them that question?” Sam asked. The women nodded. It was only fair that the boys knew why they had just been teased the way they had been. “SO let’s talk about Casey Jones” Sam said, hoping that the conversation would leave her and that the spotlight would move onto anyone else. Especially since she wasn’t sure what she would say if she was to continue on with the interrogation.
‘Why the hell did he say yes?’ Sam thought to herself. ‘He doesn’t like women like me! I don’t wear booty shorts, I don’t have big boobs, I don’t wear make-up. He’s never been attracted to me and he only said that to be nice. He’s never complimented my looks before. The guys probably told him what we were going to ask him. That has to be it! This was his way of getting back at me for allowing us to get at him! Well, in that case his surprise answer was definitely a shock and I deserved it. I’ll have to make sure I apologize to him later today’ she thought.
And that’s exactly what she did. Later that night/into the early morning, the turtles were enjoying the sauna on the second floor for the last time since later that evening they would be heading home. This was when Sam joined the guys and informed them of the tipsy women that insisted she must be in love with one of them, hence having to ask each of them about marriage. “Well, twas an interesting experience” Donnie teased. “Hopefully none of us offended or upset you” he said, a look of guilt on his face. Sam clapped her hands together. “What?” she asked. “Well I’m sure we all answered the same way” Raph stated. “You know we all care about you, but I can’t imagine any of us saying yes. No offense or anything” he said, also now feeling a little guilty because of how he responded earlier. Sam could sense Mikey looking away in a panic, now realizing he was the only idiot that said yes. Sam smiled. “Guys, I knew each of you was going to say no. In all due respect, I would have responded the same way if I was randomly asked the same question. I’ve told you all before that you have attractive qualities, but that doesn’t mean I want to marry any of you.” “So you’re sure you’re not upset about anything?” Leo asked. “Swear on my life I’m fine” she said. The three older brothers sighed in relief. “Well if that’s all settled then, I’m gonna head up” Leo said as he stood up and got out of the water. “Same” Raph said rolling his shoulders. “You staying?” Donnie asked. Sam nodded. “I don’t relax like this often, so I’m gonna stay a little bit longer.” “Same” Mikey stated smoothly. “Besides, two people means the other can’t fall asleep.” “Good call” Sam said with a nod. “Alright, see you both in the morning then” Leo said, and the three brothers exited the room, leaving Sam and Mikey alone in the sauna together.
“Uh, hehe, thanks for lying for me back there” Mikey said, rubbing the back of his head as he looked down at the water. Sam smiled. “Of course, you know I always have your back. Plus, I know it was random and on the spot which I’m sure played into your answer” she said as she nudged his arm. “What do you mean?” he asked. “Well if you knew what your brothers had said then I know you wouldn’t have responded the way you did. You were just being nice because that’s the kind of guy you are. I know you would never intentionally do anything to hurt me, so I know you said yes because you would have felt bad to turn me down so suddenly. If you had time to think about what was asked then I know you would have responded in a different way” she said with a genuine and reassuring smile. “Yeah of course” he stated, “I just didn’t want to offend you or anything. I wasn’t lying about the pretty part though, you do need to be more self-confident” he stated, trying to make the girl laugh and help her maintain this comfortable aura between the two of them. “Thanks, and I know. Ugh this got hotter way faster than I thought” Sam groaned. “Wait, what?” Mikey asked nervously. “The sauna. I know it’s supposed to hot, but this is getting unbearable. Wanna head over to the indoor pool instead? The water is nice and warm since it’s indoors” she stated. “Race you to the slide” she said with a wicked grin. “It’s ON!” Mikey shouted as he leapt up from his seat and dashed towards the door.
The two then spent the rest of the early morning swimming in the pool, teasing each other and talking as if the awkward situation had never happened. And that’s how it would stay for a while, since this situation made it clear that neither of the two was interested in the other. The other three women, however, weren’t so sure that nothing was there, but they promised to keep everything witnessed and heard in that room that night a secret, and decided that they too would ‘play ninja’ and observe what would unfold from the shadows.
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