#it feels like 2012 again

[olympain]

Ncuti and Millie just 'strolling' by the Doctor Who train in NYC

[secretmellowblog]

The thing is, Jean Valjean’s “nineteen year prison sentence for stealing a loaf of bread” from Les Mis isn’t actually unusual….not even today! I see people talking about it as if it’s strange or unimaginable when it happens every day.

In modern America — often as a result of pointlessly cruel (and racist) habitual offender and mandatory minimum laws— people are routinely sentenced to life in prison for minor crimes like shoplifting or possession of drugs.

The ACLU did a report in 2013 detailing the lives of various people who were sentenced to life in prison without parole for nonviolent property crimes like:

•attempting to cash a stolen check

•a junk-dealer’s possession of stolen junk

metal (10 valves and one elbow pipe)

•possession of stolen wrenches

•siphoning gasoline from a truck

•stealing tools from a tool shed and a welding machine from a yard

•shoplifting three belts from a department store

•shoplifting several digital cameras

•shoplifting two jerseys from an athletic store

• taking a television, circular saw, and a power converter from a vacant house

• breaking into a closed liquor store in the middle of the night

And of course, so so so many people sentenced to life without parole for the possession of a few grams of drugs.

And we could go on and on!

Gregory Taylor was a homeless man in Los Angeles who, in 1997, was sentenced to “25 years to life” for attempting to steal food from a food kitchen. He was released after 13 years. The lawyers helping to release him even cited Les Miserables in their appeal, comparing Taylor’s sentence to Jean Valjean’s.

And there’s another specific bit of social commentary Hugo was making about Valjean’s trial that’s still depressingly relevant. He writes that Valjean was sentenced for the theft of loaf of bread, but also that the court managed to make that sentence stick by bringing up some of his past misdemeanors. For example, Valjean owned a gun and was known to occasionally poach wildlife (presumably for his starving family to eat.) . So the court exaggerates how harmful the bread theft was—he had to smash a windowpane to get the bread, which is basically Violence— then insist the fact that he owns a gun and occasionally poaches is proof that he is habitually and innately violent. Then when Valjean obviously becomes distressed traumatized and furious as a result of his nakedly unjust sentence and begins making desperate (and very unsuccessful/impulsive/ poorly thought through) attempts to escape…. the government indifferently tacks more years onto his sentence, labels him a “dangerous” felon, and insists that its initial read of him as an innately violent person was correct.

And it’s sad how a lot of the real life stories linked earlier are similar to the commentary Hugo wrote in 1863? Someone will commit a nonviolent property crime, and then the court insists that a bunch of other miscellaneous things they’ve done in the past (whether it’s other minor thefts or being addicted to drugs or w/e) are Proof they’re inherently violent and incapable of being around other people.

A small very petty fandom side note: This is also why I dislike all those common jokes you see everywhere along the lines of “lol it’s so unrealistic for the police to want to arrest Valjean over a loaf of bread, there must have been some other reason the police were pursuing him. Because the state would never punish someone that harshly and irrationally for no reason. so maybe javert was just gay haha”. (Ex: this tiktok— please don’t harass the creator or poster though, I don’t think they were intending to mean anything like that and its just a silly common type of joke you see made about Les mis all the time so it’s not unique in any way.) because like.

As much as I don’t think Les Mis is a flawless book or that its political messaging is perfect….the only way that insanely long unjust sentences for minor crimes is “unrealistic” is if you’re operating on the assumption that prisons are here to Keep You Safe by always only punishing bad criminals who do serious crimes. And that’s just, not true at all. Like I get that these are just goofy silly shallow jokes, and I’m not angry or going to harass anyone who makes them. but it feels like there’s an assumption underlying all those goofy jokes that “this is just not how prison works!” “Prisons don’t routinely sentence people to absurd laughably unjust pointless sentences!” “Prisons give people fair sentences for logical reasons!” When like…no

Valjean being relentlessly hounded and tortured for a minor crime in a way that is utterly ridiculous and arbitrary in its cruelty is not actually a plot hole in Les mis. It’s a plot hole in …..society ajsjkdkdkf. And the only way to fix that is to fight for prison abolition or at least reform, and (in America) stand up against the vicious naked cruelty of habitual offender and mandatory minimum laws.

But yeah :(. I hate how Les Mis opens with a prologue saying the novel will be obsolete the moment the social issues it describes have been resolved— but two hundred years later, the book is still more relevant than ever because we’re dealing with so many of the exact same injustices.

[seagull-scribbles]

“Ain’t turtles supposed to be endangered?”

“Only the ones who can’t do this!”

[varilien]

well anyways happy goku day to all who celebrate

[lotus-duckies]

no but casey's reaction to being in april's body

He's elated, he looked doped up on gender euphoria, looking at himself and pinching himself to see if it's real, if this body is his (it's not) and unable to contain his joy

and the devastation on his face when they get switched back

the way he touches his chest only to discover it's flat, his hands big and gloved, he's a boy again and he's upset about it

the earnestness in the way he says, "Man, I kinda liked being a girl." without a hint of humor or fun to an April who couldn't possibly understand the emotional turmoil bubbling inside of him

i'm inconsolable

[forgetful-nerd]

The intense need I have to write a fanfic and sort of recreate this lotr scene with 2012!Raph saying this line to an injured 2012! Leo is unreal:

Oof this would be so good line for a fanfic about the burdens Leo feels as a leader and how he can (and should) lean on his family.

(Clearly, Learning that Sean Astin voices 2012! Raph has not been great for my sanity or attention span)

[thejadecount]

2012 and Rise TMNT Crossover Masterpost

Rise! Mikey, on his last straw: Listen here you little shits. I am this close to Dr. Delicate Touch. And NO ONE likes Dr. Delicate Touch. So you’re going to. Sit down. And listen. Got it?

The 2012 Gang, fearing for their life: Y-yes sir.

Rise! Mikey: Good. That’s what I thought. You’re going to process your emotions in a healthy way, whether you all like it or not.

-

Meanwhile, the Rise! Gang watching from the doorway:

Rise! Raph: Should-should we help them?

Leo: No. No I wanna see where this goes.

Donnie: I want to see them cry. It’s going to be wonderful.

April, recording: I almost feel sorry for them. Almost. Poor guys should’ve ran the moment Mikey got on the turtleneck.

[chaos-potat]

You chose friendship reassurance

Next

[a-really-cool-blog-name]

I think we should give Rise!Casey a little brother named Angel and do something angsty with that

[ilovebeingaturtle]

for art recs what if… 2012 venus…

AA THANK YOU ANON!! I’ve been wanting to draw a 2012!Venus for months AHA, thanks for the final push!

To avoid repetition of Karai in the narrative, I think it’d be cute if Venus actually grew up with the turtles and was never separated from them? This would mean she’d likely have Miwa’s tessen (aa sorry April!!!) but she’d also still be way more spiritually focused than the boys like usual. I wanted to draw her working with April on her psychic powers during the farmhouse arc for this too, also her interacting with Karai and also something for her and Leo’s dynamic but I realised quickly if I kept drawing her I wouldn’t get to the other asks!! AHA so those sketches will have to wait 💚

[sunsetsandsunshine]

~ You can always ask ~

YAYAYAYAY AFTER PUTTING THIS OFF FOR WEEKS HERE IT IS: MY FIRST TMNT 2012 FIC!!! TAKE THAT WRITERS BLOCK!!! TAKE. THAT. LETS FREAKING GO AAHHHHH I MISS THESE DUMBASS BLORBOS AMNSSJKSLSOSM 💗💞💞💞💕💖💖💖💖

This is a gift to the spectacular @vxlepop!!!

Lee: Leo🐢💙

Ler: Mikey🐢🧡

Summary: Mikey has noticed throughout the week that his oldest brother has been acting…off. Call him paranoid all you want but he just…he just knows something’s up with Leo. And the youngest of the Hamato brothers’ is determined to figure out what’s bothering they’re leader in blue.

Warnings: Tickling and spacing out (just for a tad bit though). If you are uncomfortable that please scroll down- this fanfic is definitely not for you :)

(A/N: T*EST DNI. I WILL ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS PUT THIS AT THE BEGINNING OF MY FICS- I DON'T WANT THOSE PEOPLE GETTING CONFUSED. THEY'RE BROTHERS U DISGUSTING ASSHOLES. UR ABSOLUTELY NASTY IF U SHIP T*EST-! THATS COMMON SENSE!!! GUESS COMMON SENSE ISN’T THAT COMMON, HM?)

——————————————————————————————————

Call Mikey paranoid. 

Call him a worry-wart. 

But his eldest brother, Leonardo, has been acting…off. And it’s been absolutely dreading Mikey inside this whole week to ask his eldest brother what was wrong. Leo’s been quiet, more than he usually is and even that alone is saying a lot. The oldest has been training with his swords non-stop, meditating like crazy and practicing speaking Japanese fluently, and not really talking to Mikey or his brothers, only if it had to do with those topics. 

Which…now that Mikey thinks about it, it does sound like everyday Leo. But he just knows that somethings wrong with the leader in blue…there’s got to be. Maybe Mikey is worrying too much, he is known to turn little things into a big deal after all. But on the other hand, he has been living with his brothers his whole darn life, if anyone would know if something was bothering one of them, he would know! …probably. 

And…now that Mikey thinks about it…

Leo hasn’t watched any Space Hero’s episodes this week…

Yup. Something was up. Mikey knew that for a fact now and you couldn’t tell him otherwise. But the real question is, what can Mikey do about it? Leo was very…closed off about his negative feelings, and didn’t like talking about them at all. Even though it was completely healthy and normal to feel negative emotions; literally every emotion is! His eldest brother told them that several times himself!

And yet, Leo never talks to Mikey or their other brothers about his negative feelings! Tch, what a hypocrite. 

And…maybe this is partially Mikey’s fault as well. Mikey has always falled for Leo’s “older sibling worry™”, but Mikey has never really worried about him that much. Sure, when Leo’s injured during a fight or he sees his brother patch up a bruise from training he asks if he’s okay…but other than that Mikey doesn’t ask him that question often.

But it’s not like Mikey didn’t care enough to ask Leo that! He does! He really does! But the thing is…Leo’s always they’re leader, they’re older brother, they’re protection. Leo’s always been the one that’s just…been there for Mikey and his brothers- ways that even they’re Father can’t compete with and the youngest can’t be anything more but grateful for that.

And…the sad truth is Leo isn’t just they’re leader or protection, under all those labels Leo’s just a kid. An amazing, strong, independent kid who has more on his plate than any other 15 year old should. And it seems Mikey, including everyone else AND Leo, forget that sometimes…

“MICHAELANGELO!” Mikey jumped from off the couch in the living room at the sudden random yell of his name, pulling him out of his thoughts. Mikey grabbed his nunchucks from off the cushion. He began to swing them, looking around the lair in hopes to find whomever called his name. “Who’s there?! How do you know my name?” The youngest turtle demanded, swinging his nunchucks faster and doing complicated tricks with them. 

“Mikey-“ 

Without a second thought Mikey closed his eyes and swung his nunchucks, coming in contact with a figure and them hitting the ground. Mikey opened his eyes and looked around before sighing in relief. A couple seconds after that the youngest heard a groan underneath him and looked down to see his older brother lying face flat. 

“Wait- Raph???” Mikey gasped, immediately dropping his nunchucks to examine his brother that was lying on the floor groaning lightly. “What’re you doing on the floor, bro?” Mikey chuckled, confused and intrigued to hear as to why his brother was currently kissing the lair floor. Raph slowly got up from off the floor; massaging the right side of his head as he glared at the youngest.

“I was comin’ to check up on ya after I finished nappin’, but ya nunchucks just wanted to get to know my head better I guess…” Raph huffed, crossing his arms around his plastron and shaking his head. Mikey stared at Raph confused, his nunchucks wanted to get to know Raph’s head better? 

Wait…

The youngest gasped in horror, going to his older brother and giving him a bone crushing hug. “Oh my god! Raph I’m so sorry! I spaced out and you know how I get when that happens so when I heard someone- apparently you call my name I just I dunno- reacted! I’m so sorry, is your head okay?!” Mikey rambled, releasing Raph from the hug and grabbed his head, shaking and examining him to make sure he wasn’t hurt. He continued to shake Raph’s head up, down, and to the side, making sure there weren't any bruises or cuts anywhere. 

Raph struggled but soon got out of Mikey's surprisingly strong hold on his head. The second oldest turtle sighed and patted Mikey’s shoulder, giving him a genuine smirk. “I’m okay, lil bro. I was just jokin’ with ya, the hit wasn’t even that hard.” Raph chuckled, now sitting on the couch as Mikey followed, sitting next to him.

“Are you sure…?” Mikey asked, fiddling with his fingers and looking up at Raph, guilt very evident on his face. “Positive.” The older replied, wrapping the younger into a side hug as the orange banded turtle fully gave into the hug. After a couple of seconds the two released from they’re embrace. The older went to grab the remote and turn on the TV, putting on some random channel before turning to Mikey.

“What’s got you so freaked out like that anyway?” Raph asked, concern written all over his face. Because, yeah, the nunchucks did hurt, badly. Obviously! I mean- they’re nunchucks. C’mon now. Raph’s a strong guy but he’s not that strong for the hit not to hurt. He just didn’t want Mikey to feel worse than he already did. 

There’s only been a couple of times where Mikey spaces out, completely unaware of anything that’s happening around him that he just…reacts when he’s able to get back to reality…if that makes sense. All those times being when he was around 7 or 8 years old, or sometimes when he’s really stressed about something. So for him to do it right now is a bit worrying… 

Guess old habits die hard. 

“It’s Leo…” Mikey said, looking down. Raph’s eyes widened, starting to  get up from the couch to grab his sai’s that were on a table, which were just a couple steps away. “What- what happened? Is Leo alright?” Raph asked. Did he miss something important while he took a 2 hour Power Nap? What could possibly have happened in the 2 hours he was taking a nap?! …you know what? No. Why would he even wonder that? The universe has a way of making him and his brother’s lives a literal hell in the key span of 24 hours, who’s to say it didn’t max down to 2?

“What-? No! Nonono! Nothing like that! Leo isn’t in danger or anything!” Mikey reassured Raph as he guided him back on the couch. The older glared at him, slapping Mikey in the back of the head causing him to playfully yell. “Don’t scare me like that again, man…” Raph sighed in relief, at least his older brother wasn't hurt. Physically at least… 

“Just…I feel like something’s up with him…y’know?” Mikey sighed. The red banded turtle nodded, letting Mikey know he was listening. “Why don’t you ask him about it then?” Raph asked. “I don’t wanna bother him, though…” Mikey said, slumping on the couch and looking up to the lair’s ceiling, in hopes to find the answer right there. But there was no way it would be that easy…it never is.

“Look. We all know that Leo can be…Leo.” Raph said, wrapping Mikey into another side hug resting his chin on the top of Mikey’s head. “And you know how he can be when we try to get him to talk about his negative feelings; he gets defensive. Which, honestly, I get. It’s hard talking about your negative emotions sometimes.” Raph started, recalling many times where he second-guessed himself to talk to his family about his feelings. 

“But we all have to talk about it eventually, because stuffing those kinds of feelings inside yourself is like stuffing an already full suitcase; one of these days it’ll burst. And you will face the consequences and be left to clean it up.” Raph said, releasing Mikey from his hug and smiling at him. “I’m not the best at this whole big bro lesson thing, but just talk to him, Mike. Just talk to him.” Raph smiled, squeezing Mikey’s shoulder comfortingly. 

The youngest beamed at that,“Thanks Raph! You’re the best!” Mikey cried, squeezing Raph into a hug. The red banded turtle squaked at the sudden contact, patting Mikey’s head comfortingly before both of them let go of each other. Mikey got up and ran to his eldest brother's room. Now 101% determined to figure out what was bothering his eldest bro. I mean, what could go wrong? 

.

.

.

Leo wanted to go up to the surface and jump off the nearest building’s window in hopes he would get absolutely crushed by the upcoming cars of New York City. Which, he knows he shouldn’t say or think…but he really can’t help it right now. 

He’s in a Lee mood, a bad one. And he doesn’t know what to do. Like any normal person, they would go and ask a family member or close friend to tickle them, right? Right. 

But Leo couldn’t do that. 

He just couldn’t. 

It’s not like he doesn’t trust his family enough to ask. But he’s the leader, they’re protection, but most importantly, he’s they’re older brother. And he can’t be asking for such childish things out of his younger brothers. He just wouldn’t. So he would do like he did anytime he got into a Lee mood and just…deal with it until it subsided.

Annnndddd now he’s sulking like a little baby because he can’t just simply deal with it. Wonderful. 

Just…

Wonderful.

The blue banded turtle sighed, flopping on his bed and burying his face in the pillow, letting out an annoyed muffled groan followed by a couple giggles soon after. Whoever designed pillows, Leo would probably want to marry that person right now because if the groan and giggled weren’t muffled from his pillows, his family would have run into his room, asking him a bunch of questions. Which Leo wasn’t in the mood for. Again, he was in the mood for something else…but he wouldn’t ask for it. There was no way.  

Speaking of family, Leo heard a knock at the outside of his door, slightly flinching at the sudden noise. Leo groaned from under his pillow, taking a deep breath, “Who is it?” Leo asked, trying his best to sound at least decent but probably failed. “Hey, Leo!” Mikey greeted, inviting himself into the eldest room, closing the door as he entered. “Hey Mike, what’s up?” Leo asked, getting his head from under the pillow and sitting up on his bed, facing the youngest.

Mikey cleared his throat, going over to Leo’s bed and sitting on the edge of it annddddd oh man. Mikey didn’t plan ahead this far. Mikey sat on the edge of the eldest bed, opening his mouth to say something but quickly closed it. Mikey kept his gaze away from Leo and fiddled with his fingers, trying his best to at least say something but his mouth was not communicating with him at the moment. 

The oldest saw the youngests’ fiddling with his fingers in his lap, Leo’s gaze softened as he got out of the covers and sat next to him on the edge of the bed. “You…do know you can tell me anything, right?” Leo said, putting a hand on Mikey’s shoulder. The youngest looked at Leo, face hardening. No! Nononononono! He wasn’t going to fall for this, not again. Not. Again. 

This isn’t about him right now, it’s about his eldest brother. That’s the whole freaking reason he came here! To ask if he’s okay! Like hell is he going to change the worryness (A/N: Is that even a word? Worryness? Eh. Whatevs) onto him. 

“You should take your own words into consideration, Leo…” Mikey mumbled, turning his face away from Leo, resting his head on both of his palms looking down. Leo looked at him in confusion, sitting closer and pulling him into a hug, resting his chin onto the top of Mikey’s head. The younger leaned into the touch, sighing sadly. 

The two knew each other were upset, and wanted to help anyway they could. All of the Hamato brothers might be different people with different personalities, but one thing through all of them stayed the same…

They were stubborn as hell. 

“What do you mean, little bro?” Leo asked.  The youngest sighed again, resting on Leo’s plastron. “You’ve been kinda…uh I dunno.” Mikey started, “Distant this week?” Mikey said as if he was asking some sort of question, even though that was far from it. He knew his brother was being distant this week.

“Oh…” Leo said flatly, almost as if he was expecting this kind of confrontation about this. Leo figured this would happen sooner or later, just wasn’t expecting it this soon. The two brothers looked at the ground, both not being sure on how to continue the conversation. 

“Just…I dunno…I feel as if you’re avoiding us? You’ve been training more than you usually do, doing a lot of mediation, more than Splinter, and you haven’t even watched any Space Hero episodes!” Mikey listed, finger curling into a fist before releasing in soon after. “I…I just wanted to ask if you’re okay…” Mikey said, starting to tear up about the fact that he realized he has never asked that question to Leo before. 

“Well…I-“ Leo’s face soon turned a shade of red, the blue cladded turtle released from the hug put his face in his left palm, groaning. “I want to tell you Mike, I really really do but it’s just…embarrassing.” Leo said, looking at the ground, still blushing.

“…Did you get a girlfriend?”

“What? No-“

“Boyfriend then?!? HAH. I KNEW YOU WERE GAY! Raph and Don owe me $50 dollars each and a free pizza!” 

“What- why would you- you guys bet if I was-“ Leo pinched the space between his eyes, taking a deep breath. That’s a topic for a different day…

“No, Mikey. I don’t have a significant other.” Leo said, chuckling a bit. Mikey groaned dramatically, flopping on Leo’s bed. “C’mon dude! You can just tell meeee! I promise I won't make fun of you!” Leo sighed and crossed his arms, still looking down.

“Or do I have to tickle the answer out of ya~?” Mikey teased, getting up and starting to wiggling his fingers near Leo’s side as a taunt. Leo started giggling and holding Mikey’s wrists, but not pushing them away at all. 

Wait. 

This seems so freaking familiar…

When Mikey was about to come into the room, he heard Leo giggling and he swore he saw the blue banded lightly poking himself in the side and skittering his fingers along his own stomach…

Why didn’t Mikey figure this out sooner?!

Leo…

Leo was in a Lee mood…

“Wait…that’s it isn’t it?” The youngest turtle said gasping, “You…want me to tickle you, don’t you?” Mikey grinned as he saw his brother turn a red shade that he couldn’t describe. “Don’t say that out loud.” Leo groaned, getting the courage to glare at his little brother. 

Leo looked at his brother before groaning again. “This week I’ve felt…y’know….” Leo said, waving his hands trying to symbolize what he was trying to say because like hell was he going to say the dreaded word…or anything close to it by that matter. Leo began wiggling his fingers lightly before stopping. “That.” Leo said as Mikey listened. 

“But…why didn’t you tell us, Leo? We would have understood and we would’ve been more than happy to tickle you!” Mikey said, stopping wiggling his fingers and relaxing on the end of the bed next to Leo. 

The oldest sighed, a sigh Mikey knew too well.

With being the youngest, Mikey knew the kinds of sighs Leo did and what each of them meant. Sometimes he did a “Please-stop-joking-around” sigh or an “I’m-older-than-you-therefore-you-have-to-listen-to-me-” sigh, but this one was definitely a “You-wouldn’t-understand” sigh. “That’s- That’s not the same Mikey…you all are younger than I am.” 

“…so?”

“So, that means that I can’t get into these weird…funks. It’s childish.” Leo said in a very relaxed tone, as if what he just said wasn’t the absolute dumbest thing Mikey has heard. And that’s saying a lot since the orange banded turtle has heard Donnie talk loads of times, and anything coming out of his immediate older brothers mouth is automatically dumb.

“That’s complete and utter bullshit!” Mikey yelled, getting up from the end of the bed and facing Leo. The oldest flinched slightly at the volume change but continued to look at the floor.

“First, I don’t think you seem to remember, Leo, but we’re quadruplets- dude, we’re the same age. You might be the oldest of us, but not by that much. And secondly, you’re a child too. We’re 15. You don’t have to worry about being childish because you are literally a child!”

“But-“ 

“Is me, Donnie, and Raph asking you to tickle us childish?” Mikey asked, crossing his arms across his plastron, recalling too many times where he and his other older brothers got into Lee moods and asked Leo to tickle them. “No of course not!” Leo interjected, looking at Mikey and getting up from the bed, eyes widened. 

The youngest smiled at the reaction and went back to sit at the end of the bed, anger now gone from before. “So why in the world is you asking one of us to tickle you considered childish, hm?” Leo blushed a bit harder as he kept his gaze at the ground. His little brother actually has a point…which is a first. 

After a couple moments of silence the youngest went to sit next to Leo, happy that his eldest brother could see where his reasoning to “being the oldest therefore asking for affection is bad” made no sense whatsoever. Leo sighed for like the millionth time today, putting his hand over his face and slowly dragging it down. 

“So…if I asked for you to…to uhm, do uh, yeah. Would you…would you do it?” Leo asked timidly, which was something the orange banded turtle really never saw his older brother express. Mikey only chuckled at the older, beaming happily, “Dude, duh. Why do you think I made that epic speech about it being okay for you to ask for tickles?” Mikey said, crossing his arms and nodding his head in confirmation. 

“So…can you…can you do the thing?” Leo asked, blushing again, “If…if you don’t mind-“

“Dude, of course! Literally all you had to do was ask!” Mikey smiled, wrapping Leo into another hug. Mikey then suddenly pushed Leo on the middle of his bed, sitting on top of him before wiggling his fingers over him teasingly. This was also something Mikey didn’t plan out either…the orange banded turtle wasn’t even sure where Leo was ticklish…which made the youngest feel a bit more guilty for not asking him about his Lee mood sooner. But he was gonna find out where his older brother was ticklish, obviously. How hard could it possibly be anyway?

“Just use the code word when you want me to stop, okay?” Mikey said. The oldest firmly nodded as Mikey began to lightly skitter his fingers around his brothers sides; the only spot Mikey knew for a fact Leo was ticklish, recalling too many times where he tased him in the side during training causing the older to stiffen and cover up his sides. Which he was doing right now, actually. 

Leo squinted his eyes shut as he hugged his middles and tried to squirm away from Mikey. The younger laughed at how squirmy the older was suddenly but after a couple seconds he was switching between kneading, scratching, and prodding at Leo’s sides but his older brother's reaction was still the same. And he hasn’t even laughed yet! Not a single giggle!

“C’monnnnn! Laugh already!” Mikey whined as he picked up the pace with his side tickling tactic, moving up and down Leo’s sides. The youngest then moved to tickle Leo’s neck, causing Leo to suddenly squeak at the sudden six fingers on the sides of his neck and burst into a somewhat high-pitched laugh, kicking his legs and holding Mikey’s wrists. 

“PFF-! NoHoHOh! DahaHaHAmmit!” Leo giggled in defeat, cursing himself for not being able to hold in his laughter any longer than a couple seconds. But Mikey happily smiled, finally being able to make his older brother laugh. “Hah! Works every time: never let them know your next move!” 

Leo wholeheartedly glared at Mikey through his laughter as he poked Mikey in the plastron where his lower ribs would be- one of Mikey’s known death spots. The orange banded turtle squealed at the touch, twisting and turning on top of the eldest as Leo continued to tickle him. Oh that little cheater. “HEHEY! Hehey! NohoHOH!” Mikey giggled, wholeheartedly glaring back at Leo who only stuck his tongue out at the younger. 

And here Mikey thought he was the little shit of the family. 

“Oho you are gonna regret that, Leo” Mikey said as he stuffed his hands in Leo’s underarms. The older screeched, kicking his legs on the bed at a faster pace. “OHO MY GAHAHAD- WAHAIT! NAHAT THEHERE!” Leo cried, as he thrashed underneath as his legs kicked along the bedsheets. Leo put his arms down as he still was holding the youngers wrists as he evily evily traced in his underarm.

“MIHIHIKE! MIHIHIKEY PLEHEHEASE!” Leo laughed loudly, blushing a light red because as much as the older one was enjoying this, it was so embarrassing. Mikey was barely tickling Leo, and he was kicking and thrashing like a little kid. But again, he was enjoying this so he won’t complain. 

“That’s what you get for tickling me, bro! I’m the Tickle Monster as of right now and no one tickles the Tickle Monster!” Mikey chuckled at Leo, now beginning to pick up the pace with his tickling at Leo’s underarms. The older whined through his laughter at the change of pace, trying to buck Mikey off of himself but the younger stayed sturdy on Leo’s waist as if it was glue. “IHIHI’M SAHAHAHARRY! Leo yelled. 

The younger one laughed at Leo’s reaction to the new pace, deciding to turn it up a notch as he kneaded the sides of Leo’s underarms causing him to do a girly-like shriek and descend into mad-like cackles. “And here I thought the underarms were Raphie’s death spot!” Mikey said teasingly, “You’re literally squirming like a fish out of water!” The orange banded turtle taunted as the older face only reddened more at the teases. 

“SHUHUT IHIHIT-! MIHIHIKEY GEHET OHOUT OHOFF THEHERE PLEHEASE!” Leo belly laughed as Mikey only chuckled at the older’s hysteric pleas. “Ihi can’t dude! My hands are completely stuck!” Mikey laughed. If Leo wasn’t laughing his shell off he would have rolled his eyes at that comment, but he can’t. “NAHAHAO THEHEY AHAHAREN’T!” Leo yelled.

“Yehes they are! It seems your amazing incredible strength is keeping my hands here~!” Mikey laughed brightly, completely loving this situation. If you know Mikey you know for a fact that he loves making his brothers laugh, especially Leo, who out of all the turtle brothers laughed the most. So this situation was like pure heaven for Mikey. 

Mikey then easily moved his hands out of Leo’s underarms, shaking his hands out before cracking them a bit for dramatic effect. Ugh! Leo knew Mikey could have gotten his hands out anytime he wanted! He just wanted to be an evil little gremlin! Amazing incredible strength my ass. Mikey then held up Leo’s left as he used his other hand to tickle the olders stomach.

And if Leo was yelling earlier, then he was completely screaming up a storm now. Leo hit his free hand at Mikey’s hand, trying to cease Mikey’s cruel attack but when he was close to removing his hand, the younger would suddenly move to a different spot on his stomach, tickling worse where he was in the other spot. 

“Awwww, Leo! I’ve never gotten to see you laugh like this, dude! Your laugh is so cute!” Mikey cooed, as Leo’s face turned a deep crimson at the compliment. The older shook his head back and forth, trying to stop the tickling sensation but decided to just give up and accept it as he falled limp on the bed and laughed to his hearts content. “AHAHA NAHAHO! NAHAT THE THEHERE!” Leo laughed louder, tears beginning to prick out of his eyes. “MIHIHIKE *snort* PLEHEHEHEHEASE!”

Mikey immediately stopped tickling Leo, putting his hands to his own chest in alarm at the noise. The blue cladded turtles’ face slowly began to turn a light crimson again, but now his face was a shade of dark red no one would be able to describe. 

Leo covered his face completely with his hands, groaning the completely embarrassing noise he just made. The youngest of the twos’ startled look soon morphed into an evil smile, crossing his arms over his plastron in amusement. 

There’s no freaking way…

“Oho my gohohod…did you just snort?” Mikey asked cheekily. “Noho ihi dihihidn’t…” Leo lied, almost regretting even asking for Mikey to tickle him…almost. “Dude you totally did! Do it again!” Mikey said as he suddenly dipped his head into Leo’s stomach, blowing a huge loud raspberry causing the older to completely lose his mind in snorts and squeals. “AHA! PLEHEHEASE! MIHIHIKE! *snort* IHIHI’M GOHOHONNA DIHIHIE!” Leo cried, still not fighting back but his legs kicking around all behind Mikey only causing the younger to giggle. 

“Raph and Don are gonna get a kick out of this~!” The orange banded turtle said into Leo’s tummy, blowing raspberry upon raspberry not even stopping to give the older one a breather. He wanted to make Leo have a fun time but this was also revenge in some way as well.

“Y’know, your upper body has been getting a lot of attention. Let’s see how ticklish your lower body is, big bro.” Mikey smiled, turning around to Leo’s lower body which caused him to start slapping the back of Mikey’s shell, trying to forcefully push him off. 

“EEEAHAHA! NAHAO *snort* DOHOHON’T!” Leo isn’t even sure why he’s screaming bloody murder right now, he doesn’t even know if his lower body is ticklish! But based on the past couple of minutes it wouldn’t be too high of an estimation to say his lower body was just as ticklish. 

Mikey poked the middle of Leo’s thigh, causing Leo to let out a glass shattering shriek as Mikey only smiled at the reaction. “Leheeo whahat was thahat?” Mikey amusingly asked. Leo, too embarrassed to even respond just groaned and waved his hand for Mikey to go on with it, knowing there was no stopping his little brother now. 

Mikey began to mercilessly squeeze, prod, and knead Leo’s thighs, even sneaking behind his knees and giving them a little pokes before going back to the thighs. Leo was in utter hysterics, not being able to stop Mikey and was forced to kick his legs and uselessly hit the back of his shell.

But obviously none of those tactics works as the younger happily tickles the sh*t out of his thighs. “NOOHOHO NAHAHAH! NAHA- *snort* MIHI- *snort* STAHAP!” Leo wasn’t even able to form a single sentence before going into loud cackles once again. 

“OKAHAHAY! OKAHA- *snort* MEHEHERCY *snort* MIHIKAHAHEEY!” Leo cried, finally having enough. The younger sighed but got off his anyways, letting the older take a breather as he sat next to him. “This isn’t over, dude. I still have to tickle some other spots y’know.” Mikey said as he poked Leo on the stomach causing him to let out a soft snort before he poked Mikey back on the side. “Whatehehever…” Leo breathlessly giggled, scared but…honestly excited this wouldn’t be the last time he’d be able to mess around with his brother like this. 

“Ahand thahanks, Mihihikey…I appreciate thihis” Leo smiled at Mikey. Now looking back, Leo doesn’t know why he was so afraid to tell his brother what was making him so upset. They’re brothers. They’re family. And like Mikey said before: Leo is a kid. He’s allowed to mess and play around with his brothers. So what if he's the leader? He’s a kid too. And it’s time Leo started realizing that. 

“Any time bro, literally anytime!” Mikey chirped. After a couple moments of silence a lightbulb went off in Mikey’s head as he slowly turned his head to the oldest grinning like a fool. “Y’know what I just realized?” Mikey said, leaning on a pillow on the board of the bed. “Whahat?”

“You can’t say Leo without the Lee, get it? Lee-o?” Mikey joked, nudging Leo in the side, his eyebrows raising up and down comically. Leo rolled his eyes wholeheartedly, playfully shoving Mikey’s face away giggling still; due to the aftermath tickles and Mikey’s funny joke. “Ihi gehehet ihit yohou dohork…” 

“Just something I thought I’d share.” Mikey shrugged, smiling. Leo rolled his eyes again, now adjusting his place on the bed so he sat next to Mikey. The younger rested his head on Leo’s shoulder as the older leaned in to the touch. “Well thanks for sharing…” Leo muttered. The two sat in comfortable silence for a while, Leo’s giggles now subsisted as the two just enjoyed each other company. 

“We heard screaming, are you two okay!?” Raph asked as he slammed Leo’s door completely open causing the oldest and youngest to fall flat on the floor due to the sudden noise and force. Raph gave out a tiny “oops” before getting out of the doorway to let Donnie in who was following him earlier.  

Mikey and Leo both exchanged glances before bursting out laughing. The two middle children looked at each other than back at the oldest and youngest complete confusion. “I’m gonna take those hysterics as a ‘yes we are completely fine”?” Donnie asked as him and Raph helped the both of them up so all the turtle brothers were standing. “Yeah, we’re okay.” Leo confirmed as Donnie and Raph relaxed at the olders confirmation.

“Oh! Which reminds me…” Mikey grinned, looking back at his older brother with a Cheshire grin before turning to his two other siblings. Raph and Donnie looked at each other again before looking at Mikey. The two middle children were so so confused as to what was happening as of right now but figured it would be best not to ask any questions. “Raph, Don, I have a little secret about our eldest brother-“

“Mikey-“ 

“And I’m sure this secret will…how should I put it? Tickle your funny bone...”

——————————————————————————————————

HUZZAH. FINISHING ONE OF MY WIPS- I FEEL SO ACCOMPLISHED U GUYSSSS I HOPE U ALL ENJOYED THIS ONE IT WAS SM FUN TO WRITE

[masterbaiting]

[seagull-scribbles]

Taxidermy fingerprints, taxonomies our differences

[Part 2 here]

[moeblob]

oc doodle for @marshmelonii because this lad is a brick wall and one of his nicknames is Brick and how can I NOT love that

[leondegranced]

Remember when early fandom called Kilgharrah the slash dragon cause he kept going on about two men being each other's destiny

[whattraintracks]

28. Broken Vase - TMNT 2012

Little Raph goes out with a crash.

Mikey looks up from his comic at the sound of a crash. Little Raph runs into his bedroom a moment later, and Mikey's just thrilled the tiny troublemaker came to him first. He beckons Raph to his lap, where the kid tucks inside his shell. With a blanket and some adjustment, the lump looks just like a pillow. Mikey snickers, practicing his innocent face for whoever inevitably comes looking for their mini maestro of mischief.

Seriously, five-year-old Raph is the prince of pranks. The same sweet face and small form that nobody suspects make him the perfect accomplice. Mikey had no idea Raph was so devious. He actually has to reign in some of the kid's ideas. Even then, they've gone through more water balloons, silly string, and air horns in the last couple of weeks than Mikey does in a few months. The guys are still setting off bang snaps around the lair.

Pranks or no pranks, Mikey loves getting to spend so much time with Raph. He and Donnie were thick as thieves when they were all little, and these days Leo's his best friend whenever they're not fighting, so it makes Mikey pretty happy that, right now, he's kid Raph's go-to brother. The others will joke about Mikey being easy to get along with because he's the most childlike, yadda yadda yadda. But you know what! Maybe that's not such a bad thing. What's wrong with dressing up, and playing pretend, and arts and crafts and coloring? Is it just 'cause they're a little older now? Mikey couldn't care less. It makes him happy, it makes Raph happy, and that's all that matters.

He gives Raph's shell a little rat-a-tat-tat and settles back to read. He doesn’t get very deep into his stack when he realises two things. First, no one's come calling for Raph. Second, his lapful of turtle is shaking pretty hard, and it's not with giggles.

He lifts a corner of the blanket. "You good, little man?" 

The only answer is a hiccupy sob.

"Aw, buddy,” he winces.

Sometimes Raph's deviousness comes back to bite him. One of their early pranks caught Leo on a bad day. Leo got really startled and almost started embarrassed-crying, and then Raph was devastated and started actual-crying, and it just went downhill from there. So Mikey's been trying to keep their antics harmless and random.

"No one's come looking for you. They can't be too mad," he assures.

Raph just keeps crying. Mikey’s debating if he should ride it out when he has a brief flash of panic. Mentally shaking himself for not checking sooner, he asks, "Are you hurt?"

More sniffles.

"Hamato Raphael," he says in his best impression of Leo's leader voice, "Are you hurt?"

Finally, a thin, watery voice replies, "No." 

"Okay,” he heaves a sigh of relief. “Okay, that's good, little dude." That took years off his life. No wonder Leo acts so old; Master Splinter must feel ancient.

He slumps against the headboard, tugging Raph a little closer. "No worries, you can chill with big bro Mikey until you feel better. I won't let anyone bother you."

Since Raph usually settles down with snuggles, Mikey returns to his comics, mostly at ease. Sure enough, the quaking and sad noises stop by the time he finishes his last one. Oh, hey, it's probably close to nap time.

"What should we make for your pre-nap snack, kiddo?" he asks cheerfully.

No response.

He repeats Raph's name a few times. Poking him gets nothing, too, so Mikey assumes the micro turtle fell asleep. Oh well, there’s no point in waking him now that he’s out. Someone'll feed him when he wakes up hangry.

With nothing to do and pretty hungry himself, Mikey uses his rad ninja skills to slide Raph to the bed—oh, ouch, numb legs, very numb legs—and wobbles out to find some food. Good old 'out of sight, out of mind' takes over, and Mikey promptly forgets about all things Raphael for the next three hours.

He's having a dinner-making-jam-sesh in the kitchen when Leo peeks in to ask, “Have you seen Raph?”

"Hmm?" He tugs an earbud down. "No, not since I left him to nap in my room."

"In your room?" Leo echoes.

"Yep," Mikey pops the p with a smile, "'Cause I'm obviously little Raph's favorite big brother." But Leo doesn't take the bait. He just furrows his brow and heads back the way he came.

Something pings in the back of Mikey's head. An annoying noise he figures is the universe telling him this is important. So he tosses everything into the slow cooker and races after Leo. Mikey follows soft murmuring to his bedroom, where Leo's crouched beside Raph still tucked in, still in his shell. His big brother rubs a gentle hand across the turtle tot's carapace. Raph hasn't moved an inch since Mikey left, and it fills him with anxiety. The little guy's not moving, not making any noise, he can't even tell if he's breathing.

"Little brother," Leo croons, "will you come out and tell me what's wrong?"

Mikey thanks everything for the gasping, whiny sob that echoes out. Leo catches him with a free hand as he stumbles to the foot of the bed.

No amount of coaxing or bribery draws Raph out, so Leo picks him up and motions Mikey toward the dojo. Right. Getting an adult is absolutely the call in this situation.

They trek to the dojo, picking up a fretting Donnie along the way. Bowing as they enter, Mikey's faintly impressed Leo can manage the correct angle with Raph in his arms and without falling over. Master Splinter is kneeling beside a pile of ceramic shards. After a quick rewind, his brain finds the audio of the crash that started this whole thing. His eyes catch on the dusty robe and an old repair kit, and he wonders if Sensei went to the storage room between then and now.

Furry ears flick in acknowledgment. "Sit, my sons."

Mikey's heart twists when Raph's breath hitches. Leo must notice, too. He kneels to face Master Splinter but doesn't let the little turtle go, arms bundling him tighter. Mikey and Donnie kneel on either side of them, and it feels like falling into rank.

Master Splinter watches them settle from the corner of his eye.

"When Raphael was quite young," he pauses, snout twitching, "the first time, that is—he broke this bowl in a fit of anger." He gestures at the dish before him. It's a beautiful gold-veined thing, and it takes Mikey a minute to notice the original interrupted pattern beneath.

Sensei's voice sharpens subtly, "What have I taught you of kintsugi."

Mikey and his brothers recite the old lesson with practiced ease. They could probably repeat Sensei's cultural lessons word-for-word in their sleep, dreaming about a heritage that can never be theirs. Mikey stumbles over his words only when Raph finally pops out of his shell, rubbing at his eyes and curling against Leo.

Sensei nods approvingly. "Things broken in anger can never be fully restored, but they can be made functional again."

He looks directly at Raph, "Tomorrow, you will aid me in mending this vase you have broken, an active meditation on the consequences of your anger. Do you understand?"

Raph bobs his head miserably. Mikey has just enough time to think, that's it?, before Sensei dismisses all four of them.

That evening, Raph hardly says a word. He's not moping, just quiet, reserved, like he's trying to avoid attention. Mikey's heart breaks when even his best jokes and silliest faces can't bring out the smile that usually comes so easy to his little brother. The three elder turtles wordlessly agree to tag team bedtime, and Mikey feels a little better knowing Raph went to bed with big hugs from each of them.

Then, just like that, it’s over. Donnie cracks the reaging agent, and Raph is back in all his slightly-taller-than-Mikey glory before lunch. And it’s great! It’s Raph whole and himself and 100% back to normal, and he predictably insists they forget the little thing ever happened.

Except Mikey can't. Can't stop thinking about how crappy little Raph's last full day with them was and that it's kind of maybe his fault for not noticing it sooner. He dreams that night of a little big brother with golden veins but broken eyes and that no matter how tight he hugs that tiny turtle, his pieces just won't stay together.

He wakes with a shout that gathers all his big brothers. He lunges teary-eyed at Raph—normal-sized, too big to wrap his arms around Raph—babbling half-formed apologies. Leo and Donnie join the hug, and Raph is pressed in from three sides. Mikey prays that will always be enough to mend whatever tries to break him.