#Species: leo

[johnnyslittleanimalblog]

African Lion by Smithsonian's National Zoo Via Flickr:  Photo credit: Mehgan Murphy, Smithsonian's National Zoo

[rottmnt-residuum]

Part 15 of Arc II (Part 41)

these boys be lyin' lmao

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[spectra-bear]

Am sawrryy for dissapearingg goys, here, random bullshit go!!!!!!

[hyacinthstears]

What if the turtles were part bird.

originally this was a silly doodle of Donnie accidently turning Mikey into a bird mutant and when he got turned back into a turtle he got to keep his wings and feathers. but then I was just like "What if they were all turtle + bird mutants from the start.

Mikeys a Rufous Hummingbird cause hummingbirds are tiny bird babys with ADHD and low blood sugar (just like my boy) also cause the orange works well with his color scheme.

Donnie's a Kea, and type of parrot found in New Zealand. I love their cool rainbow feathers and they are considered (one of) the smartest birds in the world, even smarter them some Monkeys/Apes (we found this out cause they like to tell jokes... and Donnies the funny one)

Leo's a Peregrine Falcon cause they are the fasted bird in the world and Leo goes zoooom. also cause Peregrine Falcons have blueish feathers and yellow beak and feet. which fits really well for Neon Leon.

Raph is a Great Horned Owl cause of the birds size, feathered horns and big-old wings. perfect for hugs and being a big clumsy boy!

these Designs are not set in stone. and feel free to send asks 💞

This concept is partially inspired by the Mertle AU By @queewp

also Kea are Endangered due to being too curious and getting hurt/killed. learn more here

And Rufous Hummingbirds are quickly becoming more endangered because of the decline of the insects due to globe warming. learn more here

Spread Awareness!! and protect endangered animals!!!

[jellyfish-kitty1]

Happy 5 year anniversary rottmnt! Thank you for much joy over the years and let it continue forever!

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[scatterbrainedbot]

I AM SPINNING I AM PACING I AM FULL ON FROLICKING IM SO EXCITED

@d1sc0rd1a THANK U FOR THESE TAGS

okayokayokayokay so pretty much all of these questions will be Officially Answered properly in the character design/intro pages im working on but also i am physically vibrating with excitement about the fact that you noticed all these details and i have very little self control so! lore dump time!!!

(minor tw for mentions of leos self-harm/self-destructive anxious behaviors and unhealthy coping skills)

- mikey does indeed have curly fur! i believe he would be considered a 'rex' rat (pictured on the left) for this trait? though the curls can be more easily seen on mice (pictured on the right). or, at least it seems that way. have not delved too deeply into the details of rodent genes and husbandry, but id assume its the same sort of mutation considering curly haired mice are also referred to as rex sometimes? either way hes a extra floofy bby 🧡

-as for raphie, unfortunately being more fluff and less shell than the average rapheal comes with its downsides. especially if you and your brothers occasionally encounter things like territorial dogs, hungry cats, or sewer crocodiles while exploring places ur dad said not supposed to go. (most of his scars will have more ninja related stories, but his ear i think got messed up from something very animal. probably around age 11 ish? old enough to sneak out from dads protection but young enough to not fully know how to handle himself alone against real danger. thankfully his ear injury looks worse than it actually is for the most part, as the damage was largely to the outer ear. his hearing wasnt super affected, except that he now has a bit of a harder time being able to track/pinpoint noises origins if its on his right side.)

-also yep! dons got some glasses that just clip/rest on the bridge of his nose! theyre mostly just for home use, as they do fall off if hes knocked around. in the field he has some goggles he tends to use (theyre helpful as they have multiple additional functions like heat-imaging, extra zoom/telescoping, and recording capabilities. but also theyll give him headaches if he wears them for too long without breaks). contacts are theoretically also an option but he absolutely hates the sensation of putting them in. so sometimes when hes tired he'll just not bother with either clips or goggles and just squint and struggle. leo hates when he does that lol.

-speaking of leo, he is def an anxious baby :) he has a few patches of fur missing on his hand cos he has the tendency to tug on it while hes thinking. he yanked and chewed on his own tail a lot when he was younger too, which is why when hes older he usually wears some wraps to cover the scars left from that behavior. he finds those scars specifically to be kinda embarrassing and shameful because they werent from any battle or life-lesson, just his own 'inability to control himself'. all of his brothers have repeatedly called him out on the fact that that is not a healthy way to think about his anxiety or mental health, but leo insists hes fine. hes kinda convinced himself that a proper warrior always has control over his own body* and his own thoughts, thus he should be able to just like willpower-brute-force his way into 'being better'. (this line of thinking pisses raph off so much he has to leave and go hit something)

Splinter also tries to talk him through some of that internalized guilt/shame/everything, but splinters very metaphorical, poetic, and indirect when it comes to talking about Big Things, which combined with how much leo gets caught in his own head, makes it kinda hard to gauge how much these talks actually help

*this is made extra fun considering leos also ftm trans, so he is faced with a body that fundamentally disobeys him perhaps more than the average rat-man.

-and im still going back and forth between a few species for splinter, but im leaning mostly towards an African Spurred Tortoise! they have these beautiful if kinda subtle geometric shell patterns and are the third largest species of tortoise in the world. the only thing that doesnt fit perfectly with Splints is that (allegedly) their lifespan in captivity is around 50ish years, whereas im p sure Tortoise Splinter is well over 75, probably closer to 90 when the boys are born and hes mutated into Old Man Papa.

but maybe hes just a particularly long lasting African Spurred Tortoise.

the Hamato family has taken very good care of him for many decades after all. :)

(well. until everything all fell apart, that is.....)

[applejuiceyjuice-art]

baby leo is a natural on a tech deck

[turtleblogatlast]

I think about this approximately fifty times a day

[unsafescapewolf]

In another timeline...

[johnnyslittleanimalblog]

African Lion by Smithsonian's National Zoo Via Flickr:  Photo credit: Mehgan Murphy, Smithsonian's National Zoo

[merlotmaveric]

So, species swap au.  Snapping turtle leo, box turtle donnie, softshell raph, red eared slider mikey.

I can’t. They look so wierd. Leo looks wrong without his stripes. Raph is too soft. Donnie is way too small. Mikey is kinda ok, but still meh.

[unpun1shable]

[popcornrya]

Alligator Raph and Salamander Leo trying to help Fira find her big sister! Oh and "hop hop" (the plush frog) is coming too!

Alternate species au by @rufwooff

[smol-bean-boi13]

:)

Main masterpost

[d34thbr34th]

pjo fans, listen to me.

i wanna introduce you guys to a series called artemis fowl by eoin colfer.

its an 8 book series about an irish genius 12 year old boy that discovers the existence of fairies.

in the first book, he uses this knowledge to his advantage and abducts a fairy for his own personal gain.

over time, however, he learns that the fairies are actually pretty chill and he instead decides to cooperate with them. and so, he goes on a bunch of adventures with the fairyfolk and eventually befriends them.

its a really interesting series. investing, witty. the protaganist is super likable. also, the characters are diverse without it being enforced too much. and the writing is immaculate!!! the plots are so investing in each and every book, and its just great overall.

its so interesting and if anyone wants to check it out i 100% recommend that you do.

the reason i make this post is that i fell inlove with this series as a kid and i obsessed over it for SO long. it still has a special place in my heart. problem is, its not really popular. which is SO goddamn unfair as its a wonderful series. i want it to get the recognition it deserves.

[chaotic-average-child]

Listen in my defense it wouldn't leave my brain