#i do love good dad Draxum

[pickledcarrotsandradish]

I’m gonna talk about my sep au with what if Draxum got his way!

CW: Child Abuse

Like. What if during all the explosions and bam boom pow of the lab explosion, Splinter sadly doesn’t get away with the turtles? Draxum is like “Wow, that was dramatic. But! I have my turtles now.”

He’s able to eventually take over the Hidden City and declare war on the Human World. And it goes very well for him!

Here’s the thing. I do believe that Draxum would make a good dad if he wanted to. And in most situations and universes, I think he would want to! He would want to take care of these little goobers and raise them with love and affection. The dude really is a total softy once you get past the very thin outer crunchy layer.

And this Draxum doesn’t want anything to get in his way from saving Yokai from the human threat, and that includes himself. This is a Draxum that makes every wrong turn, hardens his heart every chance he gets, and ignores the wailing of his conscience until he can’t hear it anymore. Stays so focused on taking over the human world until he wakes up one day and realizes he has almost achieved his dream. All it had cost him was his soul.

Relations with the turtles

Draxum didn’t create them with the intention of them being brothers. If anything, he doesn’t want them getting any bright ideas that if they banded together they could take him down. So with his idea of “raising them” includes things such as: having them only work together on his pre-approved missions, keeping them separated for much of their childhood, etc.

[tizeline]

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

[dandylovesturtles]

Hello! I just wanna say that I love your writing and thanks so much for sharing it :) I noticed a really cool thing you do in how you’ve extrapolated on and built upon Leo and Draxum’s father + son relationship, like in Port in a Storm, the Room fic, and I think there was another one shot where Draxum gave Leo tea after screaming himself hoarse (apologies if I’m confusing you with another author on that one). You’ve given them a really interesting dynamic. I’m curious if there was anything in particular that inspired the way you write them or maybe what your thought process was behind it?

Awww, thank you so much! And yes, you have the right person! That was one of my Bad Things Happen Bingo fics.

I'll admit I kind of Draxum-pilled myself, haha. I love a good redemption arc, and while the one we got in canon was unfortunately cut short (not their fault, of course), the bones of what Draxum and the boys could be are strong, and I love playing with them, particularly where it comes to Draxum and Leo, who initially seem like they'd have the hardest time becoming close. My feelings about them really started to grow in IMBI, where Draxum was initially supposed to only show up in one scene but then steadily integrated himself more and more into the story.

I don't really know if I have a specific inspiration, but I think Draxum and Leo have a dynamic that is particularly interesting to explore and I just like diving into that. Draxum is entering these kids' lives as an adult authority figure pretty late, something that's always contentious even when you aren't a reformed bad guy who dropped one of your "step-sons" off a roof. And Leo holds a grudge, so that makes him particularly resistant to coming around on Draxum (even though I headcanon that he doesn't actively fight Draxum's presence within the family, because it makes Mikey happy). At the same time, Leo seems generally desperate for adults he feels safe coming to, which is why he seeks out Hueso so readily and what gets him in trouble with Jupiter Jim and that one basketball guy. Leo is a pretty insecure kid and he doesn't want to be the one calling the shots (even though he's good at it) - he wants a "dad" around that he can run to when things get scary, who will make it all better for him. And unfortunately his own dad hasn't always done so well at that (though I do think he's had his moments and is getting better!).

On Draxum's end, I take him at his word that he's come to care for all four of the boys by the end of S2 (I just handwave that some development happened we didn't get to see). But while he may genuinely care for Leo's wellbeing, the two of them don't really... mesh. Besides the grudge Leo is holding, there's other things working against them: not having much in common, Leo's propensity for trolling, the fact that he's kinda annoying (but he's a kid, kids are supposed to be annoying), having personalities that go together like oil and water, etc. So while I think that Draxum has accepted Leo as one of his sons and would move heaven and earth to save him if something were to happen to him, he doesn't really want to hang out with Leo. He's not going to ask him to come play catch, as it were. And Leo really really wants a dad to come play catch with him, so that just furthers the contentious relationship between them.

This is why I like forcing them into situations where Draxum does have to directly show he cares for Leo's wellbeing. Left to their own devices, Draxum would be content in knowing that he cares for Leo even if Leo doesn't know this himself, and Leo would just accept that Draxum doesn't like him and he doesn't like Draxum and he's! totally! fine with that!! for real!!! And they would probably never grow closer as people as a result. But forced into a situation where Draxum has to show he cares for Leo, has to show he will move heaven and earth to protect him, lowers Leo's own walls as he starts to open himself up to the possibility that Draxum is one of those adults he can feel safe with.

I don't think Draxum and Leo ever get to a point where they're each other's first choice to spend their free time with, even as Draxum will spend quality time with Mikey, Raph, and Donnie, and I do think Leo will razz him about dropping him off a roof until the end of time. But Draxum becomes someone Leo knows is a safe place, somewhere he can go when he has a problem, when he needs help, when he's just scared, and Draxum will be there for him. He may not shower Leo in hugs and kisses and he may not offer him honeyed words of comfort, but he'll make sure Leo has food and a place to sleep, that Leo can talk out what he's feeling without judgement, that he can just exist without any expectations placed on him, unconditionally, forever.

Because that's what a dad is supposed to do. ^^

Thanks for the ask!

[bluepeachstudios]

Did you read the 40th anniversary rottmnt comic? Cuz I was abt to say smth but I didn't wanna spoil ya

God I did. All of the comics in the 40th anniversary were SO good, I especially loved the 2003 one. Splinter's just boasting about his kids. Also he threw Ch'rell through a window which feels like retribution for throwing Leo through a window. (ALSO HOW IS CH'RELL BACK A G A I N ???)

AND GOD THE REVEAL AT THE BEGINNING THAT RONIN IS FROM MIRAGE. AUGH. OUCHIE.

Anyway. Yes. Rise.

I was. Immediately thinking about Ghost FHGDKHG as I am wont to do. Just. Agh. Splinter died when the kids were still pretty young! They didn't look much older than they do in the show. I think it's hilarious that Draxum moved in with them though that's great hfgkdhgkd.

But jeez, Ghost with this heavy despair at watching someone who is not his dad but kind of is die. And then being hit with the "btw you have a brother and sister byeeee" he's so ANGRY. Like not only did Splinter NEVER TELL GHOST THIS, BUT ALSO. ALSO. SPLINTER DOES THIS AS HE'S DYING.

He's so angry. And in that first version, Leo's not there! So Ghost isn't even-- he's still trying to FIND LEO!!

Ough I kinda wanna write a one-shot for it but I would have to include a lot of post-GitS stuff that would be major spoilers for many things, and also some stuff is still up in the air about the movie so it would be hmmmm.

I have a complicated thought-process when it comes to GitS.

Anyway things other than the obvious that I yelled about in the Rise Comic;

RENET MENTION!!! SHE'S BEEN HELPING MIKEY WITH MYSTICISM! Is she still a time traveling lady?? Or is she just a very mystic person??? WHO KNOWS. I'M EXCITED.

Frida design reveal !!! I LOVE HER. I wonder who the brother is, considering iirc the original idea was for two sisters, and the second one would have been in "dimension x" for a long time.

I HOPE... I hope it's Kirby hgdkghdk I would also be fine with an entirely new turtle tbh I love turtles.

Yes anyway I have many thoughts. Many, many, many thoughts.

[cupcakeslushie]

Slushie i must ask. I love your Feral!Leo au, and i've read that you have it as Leo slowly gaining his memories back after a month(few months?), and the art you have where Leo refers to everyone in the picture as his treasure but not really recognizing Casey Jr but feeling like he must be family. In your arc ideas, does Leo ever met with Draxum before regaining his memories? would he see him as family or foe?

It is some time before the family feels comfortable re-introducing Leo to the friends and family he might not recognize. And that includes Draxum. Thankfully, they long enough that Leo doesn’t attack awkward Dad#2 immediately without cause. He’s wary, but Leo has enough reason back that can see Mikey is really excited about them meeting. So…if his little brother is okay with Draxum, then the guy must not be too bad. There is some slight hissing and growling, but apart from that, things goes pretty well. And the more they do it, the more memories Leo regains of Draxum. Some aren’t great—there’s a lot that are confusing, like ones where Draxum is fighting them and trying to kill all of humanity, but his bros explain that Draxum is a good guy now, plus there’s a few memories in there to back that claim up—like Draxum staying behind with Splinter to fight the Shredder.

But Leo will still watch him like a hawk whenever he comes over…just in case.

[the-suicidal-lizard]

you are young that's your fault | (Rise!TMNT & Mom!Reader - Rise!Splinter x Reader)

Summary: HC’s of you being a Mom to the turtles, and slight Splinter x Reader.

Version: Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

Warnings: No? Not that I can thing of.

I’ve never written for the turtles of any kind, so I’m sorry if I do this wrong.

You met Lou by accident, and you met him through a small, mutant box turtle. A real cutie pie. You hadn’t freaked, and instead took the small, scared baby into your arms and fed him, rubbing his shell. Lou had rushed over, having realised he lost his youngest and freaked out upon seeing you.

You didn’t care. In fact, you recognised his hair style, despite the fact he was changing into a rat. You happily helped him, buying food and baby products, clothing and anything else he needed. Lou - now going by Splinter - was thankful, grateful.

It was only when the eldest - Raphael - called you “Mamma”, did Lou ask you out on a date.

Congratulations! You just gained a boyfriend and four sons! You then later gained a daughter through April, and a grandson through Shelldon. And an enemy in Big Mama. And, Draxum had so many bruises from you hitting him (how dare he hurt your family?). And eventually, a nephew in a Casey Jr.

You lived a strange life, but not one that you would change. And, with each one, you treated each child differently, depending on the child.

…ᘛ⁐̤ᕐᐷ

Raphael:

He’s the eldest, so he gets it into his head he needs to be the eldest and stop relying on his Mom and Dad.

“You’ll always be my baby.”

Cue Raphael instantly relaxing, smiling. “I know, Ma.”

Calls you “Ma”, as a way to keep his old name for you - “Mama”.

You recall that day with fondness.

He wants hugs so badly, but he’s terrified to hurt you. But you helped raise him since he was a baby, so you know how to navigate his spikes.

You make him extra large clothes, and clothes with holes in for his spikes.

When he was leader, you would pamper him and give him a massage, because he deserved it.

You hated Ghostbear... hated him. But, you would listen to your baby talk about Ghostbear.

You made and bought him so many teddy bears for him. You're the reason he loves them so much.

Mrs. Cuddles - any time she’s on screen, you switch the channel or distract him.

His fear of loneliness used to be worse when he was little, but you told him you’d always be there, watching him, and protecting him. I mean, it’s still not good... but better than it was.

…ᘛ⁐̤ᕐᐷ

Leonardo:

He went to Splinter and Señor Hueso for advice. But, sometimes he needed his Mother.

Calls you “Mom”.

You would sit and watch Jupiter Jim movies with him, and would listen to him info dump about the movies.

He needed hugs and head pats. Poor baby was touch starved, but tried to act like he didn’t need it.

“Hey so... Mom, if you want, obviously you don’t have to. Just for laughs. You wanna scratch under my chin? Hahaha — ”

“Would you like chin scratches baby?”

“... Yes please.”

Any joke he says, no matter how terrible, you laugh. It’s worth it, seeing his face light up.

He doesn’t trust Draxum, and he never will, so he hides behind you since you do not hesitate to take off a slipper and throw it at Draxum.

Spanish lessons together.

As much as he pranks and annoys the others, he will instantly stop misbehaving if you give him a Look™. That Look™ means he’s in trouble!

Cue the brothers saying “oooooo”.

So, just because he goes to Señor Hueso and Splinter more than you, does not mean he doesn’t love his Mom.

…ᘛ⁐̤ᕐᐷ

Donatello:

Needs attention. Needs physical touch. Needs affirmation. He’s the middle child, he needs attention!

You didn’t touch his shell unless he was okay with that, and you were the only one who could give him hugs and kisses - unless he specifically stated otherwise.

Sometimes would go nonverbal, so you learned Sign Language.

Calls you “Mama”, but in the same way he calls Splinter “Papa”.

“Oh Mama! Could you give me a screwdriver!”

You sometimes cover his ears if he doesn’t have his noise cancelling headphones. You’ll just stand there and keep them covered.

He dumps Shelldon on you.

(Jokes on him, you love Shelldon!)

He gets annoyed though, since Shelldon goes to you a lot when he doesn’t comply with what Shelldon wants.

Mama: Donnie? Why did my Grandbaby just come to me crying?

Donnie: He wants grapes! He can’t eat grapes! You know that!

Mama: Make a liquified grape flavour oil, or so help me God!

Sometimes he doesn’t want you to touch him. You’ve never done anything, it’s just sensory issues. So, you kiss the air around him, as if kissing his cheek. You caress the air around his cheek, never touching him, as if caressing his cheek.

The Purple Dragons are your worst enemy, and you hate them.

Sometimes, he just needs you around and he’s happy. That’s all. He loves you a lot.

…ᘛ⁐̤ᕐᐷ

Michelangelo:

The baby of the family, and your youngest. Therefore, constantly all over you.

Clinging to you. Hugging you. Arms and legs wrapped around you and you hold him close.

Head pats. Shell scratches.

The wall on your side of your and Splinter’s bedroom is covered in drawings and art pieces Mikey gave to you.

You taught him how to cook, and Mikey grew to love him. Gives you dishes all the time to try.

Meat Sweats and you have beef. Any time you see him, you fight him... after you forced him to sign his chef book to give to Mikey.

You didn’t treat Mikey like a baby, you treated him like an adult, much to Mikey’s delight, but at times he wants his Mom to hug and baby him.

Calls you “Momma” and “Mom”.

Mikey dislikes that you don’t get along with Draxum, so when Mikey is around, you're more tolerable of Draxum. When Mikey looks away, you give Draxum a threatening gesture.

Helped you make a photo album on your phone of them as babies. Instantly regretted it because if you're ever kidnapped, the kidnapper now knows everything about the turtles as babies, and has seen the pictures.

“Momma… you didn’t show him the one — ”

“The one where you shoved crayons up your nose? I did! You were so cute!”

“NOOOOO—!”

Mikey finds that embarrassing - especially when you showed Meat Sweats. But, didn’t mind so much when Hypno and Warren returned you out of their own free will, apologising and suddenly, he gained two new (gay? Are they evil and gay? Cool!) uncles!

…ᘛ⁐̤ᕐᐷ

Ultimately you love your boys and your little family.

[thisbarbiereallylikesbirds]

A Visit to Draxum's - a @tmnt-write-fight attack

@ozymdis you have been attacked!!

Read the fic on ao3!!

It wasn’t normal for Mikey to still be in his room this late in the day. Normally by now he’d be out, already have cooked his family breakfast, and have waltzed into the lab, sketchbook in hand, to draw while Donnie worked on his latest invention. But by now it was nearly noon. And Donnie had yet to see him.

It didn’t take a genius to figure out why. Or maybe, since Donnie had been the only one who’d seemed to notice, it did.

Raph and Leo had fought before. They’d always squabbled here and there, ever since they were both old enough to talk. But things had gotten worse since the leadership change. Much worse. And the only way the pair seemed to communicate with each other anymore was through a screaming match. And there was only so much of that junk that Mikey could take.

Donnie didn’t know what they were fighting about today. Frankly, he didn’t care. The only thing that mattered to him was the fact that the arguing had kept Mikey locked up in his room. Mikey, who rose before the sun. Mikey, who was always the first to get cabin fever and beg to go up to the surface. Mikey, who only hated one thing more than isolation: fighting.

Stupid, selfish, dumb-dumb brothers.

In their old lair Mikey hadn’t really had a door. He’d had a curtain to give him the semblance of privacy, but you couldn’t really knock on that. To fix that problem Mikey had begged Donnie to build him a doorbell. He could still remember his brother's tiny, squishy face when he’d presented him with the finished project. His little brother was only five years old at the time.

He’d brought the contraption with him to their new house, and with Donnie’s help, had affixed it to his new door. 

Donnie stared at it, a small orange button with a smiley face haphazardly drawn on it by Mikey’s tiny hand all those years ago. Back when things were easier. Back when their dad still helped them with stuff. Back when Leo and Raph did more than fight.

Shaking himself free of his thought, Donnie pressed the button. It only took a few seconds for Mikey to appear at the door. A smile was plastered to his face, but Donnie could tell from his red-rimmed eyes that he’d been crying.

“Morning, Donnie,” Mikey said quietly.

“Good morning, Micheal,” Donnie said, shifting his backpack to better fit over his Battle Shell. “Would you care to accompany me to Draxum’s?”

Mikey’s eyes lit up. Donnie could acknowledge that Draxum had been invaluable during their fight with the Shredder. But that still didn’t mean he had to like him. Mikey did, though. And apart from wandering the New York City streets aimlessly (not exactly the safest thing to do, especially in broad daylight), his apartment was the only place they could really go. 

Besides, he was done listening to all the fighting too.

“Really?” Mikey asked. “You’ll come with me?”

“Yes. I know you’ve been going over there to practice your mystic stuff and I figured I could come too.”

“You want to practice with me?” Mikey said, his voice climbing at least three octaves. That wasn’t what Donnie had meant. He’d planned to sit and work on Shelldon’s new body while Mikey and Draxum practiced. But he wasn’t about to extinguish the light that had just returned to his little brother’s eyes. He wasn’t that mean.

“...Yes,” he said with some struggle. “I would love nothing more than to spend my time working on something not useful.”

It must’ve been a good lie, because Mikey shot forward and wrapped his arms around him, squeezing as tightly as he could.

“This is gonna be so much fun!” he said. “We can practice our Ninpo! Ugh, I’ve been trying to help Draxum unlock his, but he just hasn’t gotten it yet. I wonder if–”

Mikey continued talking, but at that point Donnie started to tune him out. He desperately hoped he hadn’t just gotten himself in over his head.

“What are you doing?” Draxum asked.

“Exactly what you told me to,” Donnie bit back. “Are you sure the problem isn’t your teaching? Maybe we should try something else.”

“You need to master the basics first,” Draxum said. “I already told you, if you can’t do this then you’re not ready for anything more advanced. It can be very taxing on the body. Do you want to turn to dust?”

Donnie rolled his eyes. He’d prefer turning to dust than spending one more minute doing this.

“Your brother got this easily,” Draxum muttered under his breath.

“You know what, work with him for a bit,” Donnie said, walking over to the table and opening his backpack. “I’ve got other stuff to work on.”

Draxum didn’t argue.

As stupid as he was, Draxum was right about one thing. To Mikey, this stuff was easy. In the past few months Mikey had blown past the basics and was now working on some more advanced things with Draxum, particularly learning how to fly. This was where Mikey had hit a roadblock.

He’d tried explaining it to Donnie on the way over. But, considering that almost none of this made sense to Donnie, he hadn’t been much help in discovering a solution. Something was keeping Mikey from unlocking his true potential. They just couldn’t figure out what.

Luckily, Draxum was a bit kinder in helping Mikey with his issues than he had been for Donnie. But, if he appreciated one thing about Draxum, it was his honesty. Even if it meant that Draxum didn’t try to hide his favoritism. Besides, out of all of the brothers, Mikey was a good pick.

In between their practice sessions, it looked like Mikey had a good amount of time to work on sprucing up Draxum’s apartment too. The last time Donnie had been here (that horrible family dinner) the place had been nearly empty. Now there was a vase of fresh flowers on the table, the pantry was stocked with snacks, and pictures of their family that Mikey had sacrificed from his own room hung on the walls. 

One of the first things Mikey had done when they’d got there that particular day was start making lunch. He’d cut up some meat and vegetables for a soup and set it to cook. When it was finished, it would signal it was time to take a break and eat. 

The pleasant aroma of the soup filled the air around Donnie as he worked on his designs for Shelldon’s new (and hopefully indestructible) body. He had been smart enough to not ask what was in the food. Another thing Mikey had been learning from Draxum was how to cook with Hidden City ingredients. And as much as he enjoyed that most…eccentric dishes at Run of the Mill, he figured he would enjoy the food a lot more if he didn’t know what was in it.

“Have you brothers been practicing their exercises too?” Draxum asked. Donnie resisted the urge to sigh. Leave it to Draxum to bring up the one topic that they’d come here specifically to avoid.

“I think they’ve just been too busy,” Mikey said. A familiar tone had returned to his voice. It was the same one he used whenever he talked about Raph in Leo. A quiet melancholy that he was trying desperately to cover up.

“Well, moving is time consuming,” Draxum said.

Donnie paused what he was working on. Despite the fact that they’d been in their new house for months, they hadn’t really started “moving” yet. They had their rooms, sure. Their necessities. But most of the rest of their things still sat in stacks of brown cardboard boxes, scattered around their new lair. A good amount of their stuff was still at the old one too. Had Mikey not told Draxum any of this yet?

Then again, maybe that was a good thing. The stuff that was going on at home was family issues. And as much as Mikey tried to include him, Draxum wasn’t family. He never would be. Not to Donnie.

“The soup should be ready by now,” Mikey said, cutting the conversation short and walking over to the stove. He grabbed three bowls from Draxum’s cabinets (before Mikey he’d only had paper dishes) and ladled soup into all three.

Donnie cleared the table in front of him, shoving all of his stuff back into his backpack. Back home Raph, Leo, and Splinter would all be eating lunch separately. If they ate it at all. 

The only times that the Hamatos bothered to have a meal together was when Mikey insisted upon it. He’d always been like that. The family’s glue.

Donnie looked across the table at Mikey. And then suddenly it clicked. Why he cared about Draxum so much, why he was so insistent on bringing them together. No matter what he did, Mikey couldn’t get Raph and Leo to get along. He couldn’t bring his family together. He couldn’t restick the bonds that had begun to sever. He felt useless without his job. Something Donnie understood all too well. 

He wasn’t gonna let his little brother keep feeling like that, though. If getting along with Draxum, if playing family with him was what it took to help Mikey, then he was willing to do it. He’d do anything for his little brother. 

“Draxum?” Donnie asked. “After lunch maybe I can try that exercise again.”

[boots-with-the-fur-club]

Decided to post the final chapter a day early! No Fun in Fungus chapter 5! I’ve submitted myself to @tmntaucompetition and the submissions close tomorrow if you wanted to submit this au as well! Thank you to everyone for supporting and reading!

@daboyau

@theawesomeninja-xd

@nights-flying-fox

@phoebepheebsphibs

“What did we do!?” Leo shouts in confusion.

“I know there’s something you want to apologize for. Even if it’s not your fault.” Mikey insists.

Leo glances away then takes a breath and looks at Donnie.

“I’m sorry about S.H.E.L.L.D.O.N.”

“It seems Mikey can apparently tell the future now because I have no idea why you’d apologize for that.” Donnie deadpans.

“I sent him to go protect gram-gram. He was destroyed because of me.”

“He was destroyed because the Krang loves hurting our family and possessed our extra great grandfather. I’m just glad you didn’t try to do something stupid like face him alone. It would have been your parts I’d have to find scattered around.”

“But….Donnie, you loved S.H.E.L.L.D.O.N. How are you not upset? You hate when I break your inventions, and he was way more than just an invention.”

“Are you kidding? You’re really asking me that? I can’t rebuild you! You are not easily replaceable, Leo! I know what I say and how we joke around but I thought that’s just what we did! Do you think I mean everything!? That I want you to be like gram-gram!? Like all the Hamato before us!? No! When I told you to sacrifice yourself to buy us time I said it because you like jokes! I-I didn’t say it so you could go jump into a portal to save the world! Screw the world! Screw all of it if it means I lose anyone!” Donnie ends up tearing up at the end.

Leo feels a lot of guilt creep up inside him. He was very aware about how being in the prison dimension and getting so hurt affected everyone.

At least he thought he was.

“I don’t think that, I’ve never thought that! You guys know I don’t just do this kind of stuff whenever, right?” Leo frantically looks between the three of them.

None of them can meet his gaze.

The guilt turns into a bit of hurt.

“Jeeze, you sacrifice yourself for the sake of the world once and suddenly you’re the craving death guy.” He deflects.

“Leo!” Mikey shouts, eyes starting to glow again.

“You’re joking now? Right at this moment? Am I hallucinating again? You can not be serious!” Donnie joins in on yelling.

Leo looks away from them, eyes landing on Raph.

He’s the only one who doesn’t get angry which surprises Leo. The anger was there at first, he could see it, then it flickered to something else.

Realization.

“You told us and I never thought you were bein serious.”

Donnie raises an eyebrow.

“Told us what exactly?”

“That he jokes to cope. You’re not telling jokes because you don’t care, you’re telling jokes because you’re afraid.”

Leo bites the inside of his cheek.

“I thought I was pretty obvious about it until you guys kept coming after me during the first Shredder situation. If I don’t joke, then I just stop moving and that leaves all of us without portals!”

“Why didn’t you just tell us? It sounds like you were scared the entire time!” Mikey frowns.

“Of course I was! He turned Draxum into a freaking raisin and almost killed dad! How could I not be scared!? What good would telling you I’m scared be? So you could do what? Actually, let me tell you exactly what you’d do. You’d do what you’ve been doing since Mikey rescued me and ignore everything just to make sure I’m okay. We didn’t have the time for that back then.”

“How often do you not tell us how you’re feeling just because it’s inconvenient or a detriment to the mission?” Donnie narrows his eyes.

“Have you considered how much I do say what I’m feeling only for you guys to say I’m being paranoid or messing around? Oh Leo, we should trust the weird spider lady. Leo, stop spraying the bugs to protect this guy from getting mutated. Who cares if we might get hurt during the mutant panic?”

Leo regrets his words as he sees the look of hurt on Raph’s face.

He sighs heavily.

“It’s not on you, big bro. The bigger problem is we kind of all ignore each other? I’m still afraid of bringing up the pizza puffs incident because I’m worried you’ll blow a blood vessel. Donnie got pretty mad about the pizza pigeon too. And then….” He trails off, remembering just how badly he messed up.

“Maybe that’s because we weren’t paying attention to your feelings then either.” Mikey says softly.

“No, what I did was all my fault. You and Donnie could have died.”

“You chose the wrong thing to do, but you were….really messed up, Leo. You didn’t even have much time after your panic attack. We should have taken over for you, or at least try to make you see you weren’t okay.”

“Then….I’m sorry that for as much as I talk, I don’t say what I need to say as much. I’ll try to do better, try to help us all do better.”

Mikey smiles brings him over, nuzzling his cheek against his.

“I suppose it’s my turn now. I am sorry for….a lot of things. I….know how I can be. While I have come to terms with the fact that there are parts of me that I should accept and never change, I do realize what you all put up with sometimes. I don’t always take care in focusing on what you all do for me, small things that can be taken for granted. I want you all to know that no matter what I say or do, I would still personally tear out the still beating heart of anything that comes after us. Then, I would put it on display as a warning.” Donnie says that last part nonchalantly.

There’s a few seconds of silence before Donnie is pulled into the collective hug.

The others are crying.

“Donnie, we love you too!” Mikey sobs.

“That was beautiful, Dee.” Raph sniffles.

“I’ve never heard you say something so emotional, kinda liking the mushy side.” Leo smiles through tears.

Donnie can’t help but tear up too.

He really did love his family more than anything.

Mikey soon lowers everyone down, the chains disappearing as well.

“Can Raph ask how you did all that now!?” Raph grips him by the shoulders.

“I….I don’t even really know. I just thought our family was going to fall apart and it just happened.” Mikey answers.

Donnie glances around.

“Your chains managed to get rid of a lot of the spores. I think the mushrooms must be weak to light like yours.”

Mikey’s eyes light up.

“I can make those things go away?”

“That’s my working theory, but…..I worry about your arms. I’m surprised that they aren’t hurt again now.“

“There is a pretty big difference between chains and opening up a portal to another dimension.” Leo comments, subtly checking over Mikey’s arms.

Mikey hums as he tries to think of a solution.

“Donnie, could you make a weapon?”

He makes a gun and hands it to him.

“Donnie!” Leo and Raph shout.

“Oh calm down, it’s just a dart gun.”

Mikey imbues the weapon with some of his ninpo.

“I need a mushroom to test it out on.”

Raph picks up Leo and Donnie in one arm and Mikey in another.

“Let’s find you one then.”

He carries them all off and together they carefully search for the mushrooms.

Eventually several start making their way towards them and Mikey shoots.

The bodies shrivel up almost right away at the ninpo dart stabbing them.

“Alright Mikey!” Leo cheers.

“If it’s his light that does it….then maybe these will work!” Donnie creates three UV light flashlights.

He hands two to Raph and Leo and wriggles out of Raph’s hold.

“Let’s make these mushrooms which they never evolved.”

The brothers start exterminating every single mushroom they come into contact with.

It feels nice to be able to take out the things that have been torturing them all night.

It’s almost cathartic. They couldn’t truly destroy the source of their fears, but they could waste some crappy mushrooms that triggered their PTSD.

“Do you think that was the last of them?” Raph questions after a lot of walking yielded no more mushrooms.

“When this kind of thing happens in movies, isn’t there usually one big version that controls the others?” Leo answers with his own question.

“I hate where you drew that conclusion from, but I hate that you’re right even more. My goggles picked up a much larger amount of mystic energy in one of the tunnels.” Donnie adds.

“Then we know what we gotta do. Those things aren’t going to hurt anymore people. Everyone on board?” Raph looks around.

Everyone nods with the same look of determination Raph has.

They grab their real weapons for good measure before heading down the tunnel Donnie got the reading from.

He and Mikey walked behind Raph who had Leo using his arm for assistance walking again.

Mikey can’t help but still feel a little afraid of the darkness they leave behind as they walk with their lights.

Donnie gently, purposefully bumps his hand against Mikey’s.

Mikey smiles a bit and holds his hand.

He smiles more when he notices Donnie’s tail wag.

After a good amount of walking, they come across the end of the tunnel that goes to a large opening.

Inside was a colony of the smaller mushrooms surrounding a humongous one.

“Let’s slice him up like he’s going on a pizza.” Raph readies his weapons.

The mushrooms start coming at them all’s

Leo opens up portals to send him and the others to different locations.

Raph mows down the mushrooms with his projection and Donnie supplies some clones with more UV lights.

Mikey jumps and flips around like crazy using mainly his legs as he shoots at the mushrooms. It’s freeing, not focusing on what he can’t do for once.

Donnie made grander, larger weapons with every launch of his ammunition. He let himself go all out. Therapeutic in its own way.

Leo may or may not be taking too much advantage of being able to use his portals again. They were useful in this chaotic fight sure, but it also meant a lot to be able to move around better.

This is the first fight they’ve had since the Krang and each of them felt like they got something back from it.

They keep fighting until the big mushroom finally ends up the same way as all the smaller ones.

The ones that were still alive also followed suit.

Now that the fight was over, they dragged themselves back to their home. It was entirely too late in the night and everything they went through was exhausting in its own right.

Mikey looks up at Raph, eyes almost closing, and makes grabby hands.

Raph feels his heart swell. It’s just like when they were kids.

He lifts him up, cradling him like he did Leo at the beginning of this whole situation.

Leo smiles tiredly at seeing them.

“Remember when you tried to convince me you were older and I said that all big brothers give piggy back rides? I can’t believe you and your big brain fell for that.”

Donnie considers this and suddenly stops right in front of him. When Leo almost falls over on him, Donnie takes the opportunity to get him on his shell.

“I am older.”

Leo rests his chin on Donnie’s head.

“Fine, just this once.”

Raph and Donnie carry their brothers to Raph’s room.

When Donnie, Mikey, and Leo are in the bed, Raph grabs his fluffiest possible blanket out of his collection and pulls it over all them after he’s wrapped himself around.

Donnie had his arm spread over Mikey and Leo who were cuddled up together.

Mikey also held Raph’s tight in his arms like it was the world’s most comfortable teddy bear.

They all drifted off to sleep, knowing that even if there were more nightmares, they’d deal with them.

None of them would ever be alone.

[insertcoolermonikerhere]

Running Out of Time

One shot/ficlet based off @trubblegumm's ROTTMNT Bloodbath AU (and when I say 'based off' I mean I took his fantastic Running Out of Time animatic and ran with it)

TW for death, mild to moderate gore, kidnapping

Make no mistake.

Leo fully understood that the swing of that ōdachi he'd grabbed from Mikey's bag was going to kill.

He just wasn't prepared for it slice through the yōkai's skin like it was paper. And maybe he hadn't fully processed that he was planning on killing them in the first place.

He wasn't panicking.

He wasn't panicking.

But the blood slicking his hands was on his face now, too (because he'd put it there, he'd nearly dropped the sword and he'd tried not to gag because it reminded him of things he didn't want to be thinking about but that was fine, his dad wasn't like that anymore, that was a mistake when he was kid, it was... fine), and Mikey had hooked an arm through his and-

"Am I..."

"Hey, Leo, c'mon, we've got to go, we can't be here-"

"Am I running out of time?"

"Time for what," Mikey hissed, pulling harder until Leo started following behind, stumbling after the box turtle and trying (desperately) not to look at the corpse behind them.

Time for them. He was- Mikey had taken that family photo, there was a photo of them all, out there, Spirit knows where, and his father (Splinter, Splinter was going to-) was going to see it and Leo had promised he was going to bring back his brothers but, but, but-

Mikey was with Draxum (the one who had mutated his dad. The one who had created him. A weapon. The guy who was going to use him and his brothers—and he did have brothers now, he found them—to destroy humanity, or warp it or, or, or any number of terrible things and-).

Donnie was with Big Mama (and wasn't that just crazy? The jorōgumo Splinter had loved until she'd thrown him into a pit of death where he had to fight for his survival day in and day out—she was lucky he could fight—until she was careless enough to lose him to another yōkai who only wanted him for his DNA), and Raph-

Raph was with the Foot. The clan he'd grown up hearing horific stories about—the Shredder and Karai, locked away in another dimesion, doomed to fight one another to the end of time (and if he was right, and he was usually right when it came to things like this, even his father would admit he had a good tactical mind, Raph was going to be the one wearing the Dark Armour if and when the Foot managed to retrieve all the pieces. Splinter guarded the helmet he carried with everything he had. He'd raised Leo to know that it was more important than his life, if that's what it came down to), of the Kraang locked away on yet another plane of existence, original crafters of the Kuroi Yōroi and world-destroyers.

Leo was running on borrowed time. Because once Splinter found out who had taken in Leo's brothers (because Leo doubted he would ever claim them as his sons, not after he learned the truth), there was no way Leo would be allowed to interact with them again. Three of his father's greatest tormentors.

"For us," he nearly hissed at Mikey, who just grit his teeth and sprinted down the winding corridor, "for this."

"We've got to go, Leo- we have to leave, Draxum's looking for me and Donnie says Big Mama is doing the same-"

"I know, I know," Leo growled. "I know, there's no way they're not, just- hurry. We need-"

"To find Donnie and Raph, yeah."

Donnie was never going to know why Raph decided to dip his hands in the half-congealed blood pooled around the yōkai's body.

Raph rose to his feet, eyes transfixed on his hands. "Whatever you're doing," he rasped, gaze flicking from Donnie's face to obvious sword wound across the yōkai's front, "do it faster."

"I'm upping the tempo as much as I can, oh dear estranged brother," Donnie turned away from the gruesome sight, opening the computer on his wristband.

"We have to find them before someone else does. Do you think Leo did this...?"

"What else does it look like, Raph?" He exhaled heavily through his nose, trying not to breath in the stench of bodily waste the corpse was exuding. "I know you haven't seen him fight, but he's dangerous. I don't know what this guy did to deserve this, though."

Raph ground his teeth loud enough for Donnie to wince. "Faster, please."

"I'm trying!"

Baron Draxum made a point not to engage in Big Mama's affairs.

Baron Draxum made a point not to engage in the Foot's affairs.

Right up until a photo of Rapheal and Donetello showed up on Big Mama's phone after half a week of nothing following the group photo Michealango had sent to the Baron.

Three of the kappa had been identified—Michealangelo, one of the two left behind when Lou Jitsu had fled the Baron's laborartory, Rapheal, one of the two the movie star-turned-Battle Nexus Champion had taken with him, and Donatello, the one he'd given to Big Mama to repay his debt to her, for stealing her Champion in the first place.

Which left the one in blue.

"His name is Donatello, he's my son, he's fourteen," Big Mama hissed at the Lieutenant and Brute standing in front of her, clicking her pincers nervously, "I know he was with you, I have a photo, right here-" the cloaking brooch she had hidden in her cravat activated, and her frankly gigantic form shrank down to the slightly less threatening form of a human female, brandishing her phone in the two men's faces, "look, that big red one, he's yours, yes?"

The Lieutenant sighed, running a hand down his face. "He wasn't with us- Raphie ran off a few days ago, we haven't seen him since-"

"I need a good cup of coffee," the Foot Brute standing behind him grumbled, and Draxum would have found it funnier if he hadn't been busy doing something other than chattering and throwing around baseless accusations.

If he hadn't flipped to the wrong (right?) page of the book he was pouring over.

(Which left the one in blue).

The blue ribbon he'd marked the page with was what had originally caught his attention.

Then, the Hamato clan symbol directly next to it. The mythic clan that had trapped the Shredder in a prison dimension not dissimilar to the one the Kraang were held in, the one he had discovered Lou Jitsu—Hamato Yoshi, really—had belonged to just prior to his kidnapping (rescuing...? The warrior had seemed to come along willingly enough), the one with the mystic abilities that died out amongst humankind centuries ago and yet somehow persisted in this nearly-nothing clan living out of Japan in the second millenia.

The blue ribbon.

(Which left the one in blue).

He pulled his own phone out of his pocket.

(Which left the one in blue).

The blue ribbon shone under the lighting of Big Mama's office.

Donatello. Michealangelo. Rapheal.

And the one in blue.

One of the two Yoshi had managed to carry out the lab with him.

The only one that hadn't resurfaced afterwards.

"Big Mama-"

Which left the one in blue.

Raised by an assassin with a vendetta. And now with access to each of their weak spots.

[untitled-tmnt-blog]

Which of your TMayNT pieces were your favorites to do?

Do you have any favorite TMayNT posts you've seen from others?

As far as my own stuff goes -- I always have a good time with traditional art, so Day 16 and Day 21 were a lot of fun! And I also like making simple little animations, so I enjoyed doing Day 24 as well!

As far as others' art... I'm so awful at picking favorites, so I hope you don't mind that I'm just gonna have to list a whole bunch again! I'll put that under a cut, because it's gonna be lengthy. (And I don't really know if people like being tagged when I mention their stuff, or if they find it annoying... so, um... sorry if it's the latter!)

As an appreciator of traditional art, I really liked seeing @strawberry-ren's drawings -- especially Leo and April! They're beautiful drawings, and are colored so incredibly well!

@kesoyotes has a really pretty artstyle! It's very vibrant and clean, if that makes sense. I particularly liked April and Donnie!

@artsybun's art was all so good! I really liked this Leo drawing, this one of the turtle tots, and this one of 2012 Splinter... and THIS MASTERPIECE, of course!! I love that particular drawing so so so much!

@annaliearts also had some incredible pieces! I especially loved this '03 Donnie, and this one of '03 Splinter with the baby turtles. I mean, just look at Splinter's face!! And those precious babies!

And speaking of baby turtles -- there were SO MANY good turtle tot drawings for day 4! I loved this one by @cacutus, with the baby turtles sleeping all over their Dad! And this one by @sky317, because just look at Mikey's little face! And Raph in the teapot! I loved this one by @sad-leon, because I adore the way they draw their little expressions so much! And idk how to explain it, but like... their positioning, I guess? The way Leo's leg is just plopped down over Donnie like that -- it's the cutest thing! And I really liked this one by @sariphantom -- look at the babies' faces!! Leo sticking his tongue out, and tiny Donnie being so angry! I also really liked this one by @vdragon-creations (which was for day 11, but it does also include baby turtles)! The way '03 Splinter is looking at the babies -- ohh, my heart!! He loves them so much!!

There were so many good Aprils as well! I adore the way April is holding Mayhem in this one by @temva, and the coloring in this one by @just-another-tired-gay-artist is so cool! And I love both the perspective and background in this one by @matryoshkalex.

I love @frosteaart's coloring style so much! The lighting is beautiful, and it makes each scene so... is aesthetic the right word? Like, I want to flip through a whole art book full of it! I particularly liked the drill, Karai, and this Insane in the Mama Train redraw.

I also loved a lot of @heck-theo's art! If I had to make a short list, I'd say this one of Mikey with Draxum, and this one of Mikey with Splinter, because I just love the way he's hugging/holding his dads! And then this one of April, and this Evil League of Mutants scene, because they're both exceptional art pieces!

I also love anything that makes me laugh, so this tech-bo drawing by @hoodiehorizon, and this one by @cookieturtle26 are on that list! They make me smile!

I really enjoyed seeing all of the collages by @boxfullaturtles, especially Splinter, Shelldon, and Leatherhead!

I also loved the coloring on this Leo by @kurashikimisaki, the style of these Leos by @neon-mega-turtle, and this little Beebop & Rocksteady GIF by @jadetheblueartist... and probably a whole lot more that I just can't remember right now because there is just SO MUCH good art!!

[random-refuge]

ROTTMNT Fic Recs part 2

Here is the follow up I promised to my first ROTTMNT fic recs post which you can find here where I list my recommended works with a completed status.

These are some of my recommendations for ongoing fics. Just another reminder that Leo and Donnie are my favs so I gravitate towards fics focusing on them more than the others.

Like Father Like Son by eternalglitch

I feel like this fic doesn’t even need an introduction. It’s the most popular ROTTMNT fic on AO3 right now with a ton of fan art and videos dedicated to it. But in case you haven’t heard of it basically Leo gets kidnapped by Draxum and forced to do his bidding and a lot of physical/ psychological abuse ensues while his brothers desperately try to find and save him.

A Twin Thing by minumi 

This fic centers around the disaster twins and the special bond they have even though Donnie will say it’s impossible for them to have such a bond since they aren’t actually twins. Each chapter takes place in a different time in the boys’ lives so we get some turtle tot content. Has some lovely autistic Donnie moments though the author is clear they are drawing from their own experiences so it may not speak to everyone.

 Separate Times by QueerBadBitch

When future Mikey opens a portal to the past, future Leo accidentally gets flung through it by an explosion while the 16 year old him ends up in the future. There is a lot of great angst, wonderful moments between the displaced Leos and their family from the past/ future plus some really heart wrenching disaster twin content. The author takes some liberties so it’s not 100% canon compliant. This is also the first fic to have gotten me curious about Leosagi as Usagi is future Leo’s husband, though he isn’t in the story too much. The author has some great side stories for the fic including how Leo and Usagi met.

A World of Samurais and Ninjas by Annonnie 

This was the fic that made me get on board the Leosagi train. It’s an AU where Mikey accidentally transports Leo from the prison dimension to another universe occupied by a young Usagi (Miyamoto Usagi, not Yuichi). The interactions between Leo and Usagi are unbelievably cute, I love Usagi’s characterization as he is quite mature but also acts like a bit of an idiot when he’s in love. It also has some chapters focusing on the family grieving their loss and it’s very well done, especially Donnie who is going mildly crazy 😏

 51st Day by frudence_the_loredaughter 

Okay here is a Leosagi fic for my Yuichi Usagi lovers. This fic takes place after the second Season of Samurai Rabbit and after the events of the ROTTMNT movie. Usagi accidentally ends up in Leo’s world and they have to figure out a way to send him back home, though it’s also hinted that he may have been sent there for a reason. Has one of the cutest/ funniest meet cutes between our two idiots plus some very fun language barrier content as Yuichi speaks only Japanese while everyone in Leo’s family other than Splinter only speak English or ASL.

 call me here (i will appear) by gayneku 

An AU where Leo dies in the prison dimension and comes back as a ghost. Honestly I can’t say much else without spoiling it but it’s got some really wonderful angst and I especially like the characterization of Donnie grieving the loss of Leo. The author also has some wonderful additional content for the fic here 

 Fallout by GauntletKnight 

SO MUCH ANGST! ALL OF THE ANGST! This is one of two post movie recovery fics I’m gonna recommend. It takes place during and directly after Leo gets pulled from the prison dimension. Each chapter is from the pov of a different brother. Draxum is in this one and he’s trying to be a good dad and has some nice scenes. Very little comfort in this fic, honestly it just keeps getting worse and I LOVE IT 😈

The Aftermath by Starrcrossrose

Another fic dealing with the aftermath of the movie. This one takes place about 2 months after the invasion and it’s just angst angst angst, horrible coping mechanisms, angst angst, Donnie being absolutely done with Leo’s bullshit, more angst AND OH GOD WHERE’S THE CONFORT IT JUST KEEPS GETTING WORSE and I love it! Make my boys suffer suffer suffer

Like take a look at the masterful disaster twin content this fic provides:

“He felt like his heart was tearing, and even deeper, he felt something else breaking apart. Like someone had gripped the very essence of his being and was determined to destroy it. He’d felt his brother - his twin - leave the earth, and knew without a doubt that when and if he died, he’d feel that too.”

Never Do That Again by DiscowingSuit

This one has Leo stuck in a time loop for the events of the movie where he has the  pleasure of getting killed over and over and over again! Very little comfort in this fic so far, mostly just hurt and angst. Trigger warnings for somewhat graphic depictions of violence and dead bodies.

I May Be Invisible, But I Still Look Good by Dandy 

This fic has just started but the premise has me hooked. A yokai rips Leo’s soul from his body and he has to find a way to undo it. His brothers don’t know magic is at play so he’s desperately trying to communicate with them in ghostly form while they grieve over his unresponsive body. Has some great Donnie vs Raph content I haven’t seen much of in the fandom.

 I’m very angry, actually by Cowboy0505 

I’m recommending this fic because I love the concept and really want to see more like it. In this fic the purple dragon kidnap Donnie’s brothers in hopes of using them in exchange for his tech. It’s in it’s early stages as the chapters are quite short but so far I’m enjoying it.

Fair warning that this fic only updates every 2-3 months but omg is it good. Leo’s sword gets shattered while he is in the process of teleporting which results in him being unable to reform. I don’t want to say much else cause I don’t want to spoil it but it has some fantastic angst and plays out like an adventure story once it really gets going. You’ll also notice that ParvumAutomaton is one of the writers and if you liked either of the fics by them that I recommended in my original post then I guarantee this one won’t disappoint.

 Picking up the Pieces by Andromedabrown, GalacticDreamer, ParvumAutomaton

 Very Thoughtful by theashemarie 

This is a wonderful fic that explores Donnie’s low-empathy written by an author who is autistic and has low empathy. It’s a beautiful character study and I love it so much. So far all the chapters take place when the boys are young so it has some super cute turtle tot content and the most recent chapter has Donnie meeting April for the first time.

 warmly in the dark by bobtheacorn 

A disaster twins centric fic that just makes me go

Just some unbelievably heart-warming content. Donnie’s autistic characteristics are heavily featured and chapter 3 is especially hilarious, feeling very much like it could be an actual episode of the series.

  One Two Three (Four) by CringePhase 

Okay, fair warning that this fic hasn’t updated since September and prior to that it hadn’t updated since 2020 so I’m not certain if it’s abandoned or if the author is just slower to update. This fic features Donnie being kidnapped and brainwashed by Draxum to believe Draxum is his dad and he cannot remember his brothers. Despite the gloomy premise it has some really hilarious great dialogue that feels very in character, some wonderful moments between Donnie and his other 3 brothers including a whole chapter dedicated to Mikey and Donnie as well as the disaster twins going head to head in a fight (Leo’s fucking pissed y’all). It also features Huginn and Muninn quite heavily and OMG WHY DO AUTHORS NOT INCLUDE THESE TWO IN MORE FICS THEY ARE JUST THE BEST!

Anyway that’s all for now. I’ll edit this post to @ all the fanfic authors I mentioned who have tumblr accounts later.

@wicked-elfie​ @dandylovesturtles

[tizeline]

When the brothers decided to go up against Draxum and accepting humans, does that mean leaving home and live in the sewers?

What do they think of splinter and dee's.... " home "?

this ask is like a month old, ignore that But I've wanted to talk about this, cuz I've gotten asks and comments and such where people assume that the Drax Bros are just gonna, like, abandon Draxum completely after realizing that they're in the wrong. I don't blame people for that assumption btw (considering it often happens in other separated aus), but while Draxum's relationship to his sons isn't necessarily perfect, they still very much love each other. They're family, the brothers wouldn't just up and leave, and Draxum would certainly not kick them out.

So like in canon, Draxum gets slurped like a capri-sun by the Dark Armour and then unceremoniously spit out. This leads to Donnie and the Drax Bros teaming up to deal with Shredder considering it's now a problem for all of them, but I'll get to figuring out the specifics of that later. After that whole thing is dealt with, the trio would run off to find their dad. He's pretty hurt after the whole Dark Armour fiasco, and then he becomes wanted by the law after the yokai authorities find out about everything. So his sons wouldn't wanna leave him in ✨his dire time of need✨or whatever. (also wait they'd probably also be put on a wanted list haha)

Leo and Draxum would have a pretty strained relationship during this time. I've made some mentions of it, but Leo figures out that The Foot is being sus and tries to convince Draxum that putting on the Armour is a Bad Idea. But when that fails, he actually goes to Donnie to team up with him so that the two of them together can try to stop Leo's dad and his brothers from completing the plan and inevitably getting fucked over. So after all of that, Draxum is salty that Leo went against his orders and teamed up with the enemy, putting their mission at risk, so he grounds Leo for like a month lol. Leo is salty because he was right and they never listen to him and then he gets grounded??

Anyway, considering Leo can just teleport and Draxum is too weak to stop him he just, like, comes and goes as he pleases haha. It's during this time that he and Donnie start hanging out for real, like, as actual friends. It's a bit awkward at first, being genuine towards each other, but it does eventually lead to Leo being invited to Donnie's home.

Also, lmao, yeah it's not exactly as big and fancy as Draxum's home, but it's still a good place to live. Donnie being a tech nerd would've figured out how to implement good airconditioning, heating and lights and stuff. It'd probably not be quite as cozy as in the show, I'm assuming Mikey was the one responsible for livening the place up with artworks and colours and stuff in canon, but it's still homey.

Over time the Hamatos and the Draxums would slowly become closer, and as Donnie and Splinter start to trust Raph, Mikey and Draxum more they would also be invited to their home. I don't think they would move in to the same place until MAYBE some time after the movie.

Actually no wait, it would be interesting if, like in the show, Shredder were to destroy Donnie's and Splinter's home in the sewer, which would lead to them moving into the same place and the Draxums, which would inevitably lead to conflict if they're still in the process of befriending each other.... >:] Oooo conflict is fun, maybe that'll effect how the movie plays out, but I'll have to figure that out later.

[tangledinink]

I LOVED how Baron Draxum seems to be an actually good father towards Mikey. Dunno the other 2 under him but he seems nice to Mickey, letting him learn and all!

It does seems like having children changed him a little bit. If he and Splinter ever encounter (I know they will but reaaaally later) would they share custody of the kids or Draxum would accuse him of being a coward and hiding all this years and never wanting to come and “safe” the kids under his guardianship when he knew they existed?

If I remember correctly, Splinter seems to KNOW that the turtles exist even before feeling the ninpō connection.

Also, god, we need to see interactions between the 3 kids under Barry. Do they like each other? Are they jealous of Mikey and his relationship with Barry? They seem really close, makes sense as Mikey IS the one with the strongest mystic abilities in the fam.

Would they meet Raph the same way Baron met with the foot clan in the cartoon?

Having children definitely changed Draxum-- especially since one of those children was Michel fucking angelo. I mean, come on... How can you not be at least a little soft for that sweet boy?

The plan is for them to essentially share custody. Splinter is not a fan of Draxum and is therefore not thrilled about this, but Draxum has three of his kids, and is actually, admittedly, doing a... decent job with them... and none of the kids have any intention of leaving their Dad to go live with this rat in the sewers instead, so... He doesn't really have much of a choice.

Splinter was not aware up until recently that he had any living children. Up until now, he was under the impression that all of the turtles that were mutated with his DNA were killed in the ensuing lab explosion, as he wasn't able to find any of them in the wreckage. It wasn't until he felt Donnie's ninpo activate that he discovered that this wasn't the case.

We will definitely see Draxum's other kids soon, as well as Raph!

[bluepeachstudios]

Little Scraps of Wisdom Anniversary!

Hi everybody! @spectralsleuth's fic Little Scraps of Wisdom was first posted a year ago today and me and @alicat54c got together with some other people to make an anniversary gift <3

If you haven't read it, it's REALLY good, it's a series of stories about Yoshi/Lou escaping Draxum with the kids without being mutated, and him integrating them into human society. Audio's writing is so lovely! <3

Premise of this gift is that the tots from Little Scraps of Empathy (LSoW / Empathy is Learned crossover; also very cute) found Ghost in the sewers and decided to bring him home with them while their family is out.

---------

“You’ll love our big brothers, Mr. Ghost!” the little spotted turtle, Touma, chattered. “Mikey makes the best food, and teaches me how to make the best food too!”

“You guys must eat really well, then,” Ghost murmured, casting apprehensive looks around the home.

“Hm!” Touma squeaked. “Mikey made a whole salmon for Raph yesterday! I got to help!”

“You should sit!” Aoi, the little slider, patted Ghost’s knees. “Dad says it’s polite to sit nice guests on the couch, not stand in the hallway.”

“Oh.” Ghost shuffled further inside, eyes scanning as he let the four little ones guide him into the other room, where he perched on the edge of the couch.

He could see an old magazine on the coffee table, depicting a grinning human in yellow tinted glasses. There were more beneath that, but Shima, the little soft shell, climbed onto the couch next to him, peering into his face intently.

Ghost hesitated before reaching out and petting over his head slowly.

Shima’s glowing red eyes scrunched shut as he leaned into the touch, tiny churr in his throat, before settling back against the opposite arm of the couch. 

“What were you guys doing out in the sewers?” Ghost asked, eyes softening at Shima. “You’ve got a nice house to live in here.”

“Dad never said we couldn’t go outside,” Aoi argued, fiddling with something under the table. “Just that we shouldn’t touch Donnie’s plants, in case, um, something.”

“Eaten,” the snapper, Kouji, signed, flopping onto the floor, where a pile of blankets and cushions had been stacked,

“Thanks for helping us find home!” Touma chirped, struggling to climb onto the couch cushions without digging his claws into the fabric.

Ghost scooped him up, placing him on the couch. His eyes kept drifting over the magazines on the table, then back up to sweep all the entrances.

Touma cuddled against him immediately, little yellow spots creasing like freckles as he smiled. “Thank you Mr. Ghost!”

“Yeah…” Ghost petted over Touma’s shell. “How did you all end up here…?”

“We used to live in the storm drain, before Dad found us,” Aoi chattered. They seemed to be setting up a game of chess on the coffee table. “We wanted to see what the storm drains here were like. We didn’t mean to get lost! But it’s okay, we found you! Dad likes turtles, so Dad’s gonna like you too!”

Ghost hunched his shoulders slightly, taking note of the exits once more.

Touma chirped, cuddling against his plastron. His grip was strong for a turtle of his size. “It’s okay, Dad’s nice! He makes sure no one screams at us! You don’t have to be scared!”

“Oh, no, it’s not–” Ghost paused, taking a breath and curling an arm around Touma. “That’s… good to know.”

“Do you want to play with me?” Aoi’s red eyes peered up at Ghost hopefully.

Ghost surveyed the board game, nodding. “You play?”

“Hm!” Aoi nodded. “Leo, my big brother, is teaching me how to play better, and lots’a other fun games too! He’s the best! Do you know any fun games?”

“Some…” Ghost sat forward on the couch to peer at the board. “You can go first.”

“Okay!” Aoi moved a knight. 

As they played, and whichever hand was free went to petting either Touma or Shima, Ghost wondered why a famous actor would adopt not four, but supposedly eight entire mutant turtles. He couldn’t see anything to gain from it, except perhaps more fame, but it came with more problems than it was worth. There were easier ways to get famous.

Ghost wondered why they were living aboveground, in a normal house, on a normal block, like they were humans. Was it possible?

Casually, he moved some of the magazines to look at the covers. If not Lou Jitsu, then it was Hamato Leonardo, posed and dressed like a model, bright red crescents always prominent. Ghost could feel his own Leonardo cringing at the thought of being seen, let alone modeling for a magazine on purpose. 

How did everyone know about them and nothing happened? Was it possible to live like this?

“Checkmate!” Aoi chirped, drawing his attention forward again.

Ghost blinked. He hadn’t been paying that much attention to the game and it had cost him. “Mm. You’re very good.”

Aoi beamed, tail wiggling. “Leo’s teaching me! He’s really fun to play with! Um, I like playing with you too!”

Ghost’s eyes softened. “Yeah. Me too.” He started to reset the board. “Another game?” He would pay attention this time. Give the kid a run for his money, as it were.

“Yeah!” Aoi chirped, already resetting the board.

“Shelldon says Dad and everyone’s gonna be home soon,” Shima hummed, playing with a tiny spider between their claws. It glinted metallically. 

“I should…” Ghost stood, stiff. “I should go.”

“You can’t go!”Touma cried, latching onto his arm like a vice.

“You gotta stay!” Aoi latched onto his leg just as tightly. He was trapped. 

“I can’t,” Ghost insisted, desperately. “I have to go, I can’t– I’m not supposed to–”

“Nooo!” Aoi whined, as Kouji wriggled out of his nest to capture Ghost’s other leg. “We want you to meet Dad and our brothers!”

“I can’t, I don’t belong here!” Ghost tried plucking them off carefully but they were like barnacles. If he wasn’t terrified of hurting them, he could have run.

If he really wanted to, he could have gotten away.

There was a rattle of keys in the lock, frantic worried voices on the doorstep. 

“Daddy!” The little turtles cheered, voices eerily in sync. 

The door opened.

Ghost swallowed.

Looks like he was stuck here for a while. 

[cupcakeslushie]

How do they all (mostly Donnie) react to OG!Mikey making OG!Draxum into a good person and actually succeeding with turning Draxum into a good person

@organisedchaosstuff @raisondetre2012

Donnie would probably see it as a second chance to make a better impression and try to act all cool and calm about it, but secretly he’d be terrified of screwing it up. Meanwhile when they do bring him over, OG!Draxum would be able to tell there’s SOMEthing that’s not quite right going on, and everyone in this strange family is being colder than even his own usually can be (SEP!fam is ONLY being civil because Donnie practically lit up at the idea of hearing OG!Mikey talk about his Draxum being like their second Dad, and then when the idea of meeting him came up he jumped in to say yes before any of the fam could refuse)

It would probably all end up culminating into a massive meltdown of panic and revelations when he’d do a little something wrong and think he’s ruined his opportunity to finally please Draxum. It would be a mess of a disaster where Donnie is having a panic attack, Raph is using all his possible strength holding Mikey and Leo back from attacking (and making all his own self control to not go on the attack himself), April and Splinter are trying to calm Donnie down but nothing’s working and the OG!fam has no idea what to do and are shouting among themselves, only making things worse until OG!Mikey and OG!Leo just drag Draxum out and OG!Raph is trying to calm his Donnie down who’s busy having his own existential crisis over how much his counterpart seems to be traumatized and is just…so different from him.

I have so many ideas for this scenario cause I love Canon Draxum and I think it would honestly pain him a lot to see the damage another him has caused, and he’d want to make things right in his own awkward way, but by trying he’d probably only make things worse. Also I HC that after Mikey, Donnie is probably the brother he becomes closest to because they bond over their love of science and Donnie eventually goes to Draxum to understand more about his Ninpo and mixing Mystic with tech. So seeing how Sep!Draxum didn’t appreciate any of his Donnie’s genius makes him livid.

Top ten pictures taken before devastating events.

Lol I feel like this ask has very cursed energy my dude. Too dark. I don’t think the turtles would survive the trauma because the Draxums wouldn’t fight each other— they’d 100% totally team up and cause the most damage they could.

[lykaios2]

I was wondering if you could write something? It can be a headcannon or oneshot, it’s up to you. Could you do a Rise!Leo x reader, and Leo introduces reader to Senor Hueso, since Hueso is kinda like a father figure to him? I don’t know I just thought it would be a cute idea!!

Thank You!🫶

gragaraaggagagagagarahhhah the ending is terrible but i worked on it so might as well ppst it idk im just drop it here

hope you enjoy ❤️

The Father I Never Had

rise!leo x reader (romantic)

“Thank you so much for coming, babe.”

It was a special day for Leo today. He had been very excited about this day, but also quite nervous. You and Leo had been dating for about a year now, and it was a good relationship. He loved you more than anything, you were his entire world. He told everyone about you. Especially his favorite restaurant manager and bone man, Señor Hueso.

Hueso was the father that Splinter never was. Sure, Leo loved Splinter and he was pretty sure Splinter loved him, but Hueso was there for him a lot more. He could tell him anything. And he did.

Hueso was very excited to learn that Leo was dating you. Hueso had been bugging him for a while now about if he was going to get a partner or not, so when Leo did, Hueso begged to meet you one day. But unknown to you, today was that day.

“Of course, Leo. What’s up? You told me to dress somewhat nice, so there’s gotta be something.”

“Listen, don’t stress about this but…I wanted you to meet my dad. My other…other one. We’ve been together for a little bit, and I figured you should get to know him a little, seeing as he’s so important to me.”

“Other than Splinter and Draxum?”

“Yeah…he runs the pizza place me and my brothers always go to. And the one where we went on our first date.”

“Woah, you know him? Oh…I hope he’ll like me.”

“Oh, come on, you’re perfect y/n! Everyone loves you. Especially me.”

“You sweet talker, you.”

It was a bit scary for the both of you. There was always the fear of disapproval, but you just put it in the back of your mind for now. Leo held out his hand to you, smiling, while his other hand was already creating the portal to Hueso’s. You took his hand, letting him lead you through. You popped out on the other side right in front of Hueso’s.

“Wait, isn’t he, like, working?”

“Oh, he’s been dying to meet you. I’m sure he can spare some time.”

“He wants to meet me?! Now the pressure’s really on…”

“Hey, don’t sweat it! He’ll love you, I’m sure of it.”

By now you were almost to the back of the restaurant. Leo was calling out to Hueso and looking around, before a seemingly annoyed Hueso appeared out a door somewhere. You had only seen him once before, so to see him up close was really a bit of a shock.

“Hueso! My favorite restaurant manager! How’ve you been?”

“Very peaceful without you here, amigo.”

“Aw, come on, you know you miss me. I liven up the place, make it a little more fun.”

“I may miss you, but I do not miss the chaos you cause. Now, who is this you’ve brought with you?”

“Oh, right. So, I know you’ve been bugging me to meet my partner ever since I met them…well, this is y/n.” Hueso was taken slightly aback. He was not prepared for this moment at all, and started fumbling around. He excused himself for a minute, and began hurriedly running around the back of the restaurant, trying to take care of a few things. You look concerned, but Leo just smiled and laughed. After quickly making preparations and ensuring that everything would be okay while he was gone, he rejoined you and Leo and asked you to follow him. Hueso led you through a door in the back, into a more quiet part of the restaurant. He sat at a table, inviting you two to sit with him.

“y/n, this is Señor Hueso. Hueso, this is y/n. You guys haven’t met before, right?”

“I don’t believe I’ve had the pleasure.”

“No, I don’t think so.”

“Well then, allow me to do the honors. y/n here is my lovely and amazing partner, who I would do anything in the world for. We’ve been dating for about a year now. I couldn’t be more grateful for them. They take wonderful care of me, and I wouldn’t trade them for anything in the world.” He praised you to no end, which only made you more and more shy and bashful. Hueso seemed pleased, he could tell that Leo truly loved and cared for you. “And we can’t forget Tio Hueso. Hueso…he’s always been there for me. After the Kraang invasion, he checked up on me all the time. He’d send me and my brothers dinner if we couldn’t make it for ourselves.”

“Aw, that’s so sweet of you, Hueso.” Hueso smiled.

“On late nights, I’d often go out on my own, and a lot of the time I’d end up here in this restaurant, just talking to him. He’s always listened to me…he’s always accepted me, no matter how I changed.”

“It sounds like you really love him.”

“I do. I couldn’t be more thankful for everything he’s done for me.”

Leo sat in silence for a minute. Leo was smiling at Hueso, almost as if he was recalling everything he had done for him.

“Well, it sounds like Leo loves you quite a bit.”

“I could say the same to you.”

“Oh, sorry you two, I was just…thinking.”

“About what?”

“That’s not important. Come on guys, it’s too quiet in here! Start talking, it’s not like there’s nothing to talk about.”

You awkwardly started the conversation again. But soon enough, the three of you were talking the night away, taking turns talking about life stories, some more embarrassing than others. Surprisingly, Leo was the quietest. But he just wanted to sit there and take in how cool it was that two of his favorite people in the world were right in front of him, having a good time.