#leo: I’m nothing without my brothers

[turtleblogatlast]

It’s hard to escape self doubt

[starrayblogs]

Scenario or Headcanons of Tmnt (bayverse) x reader who is very friendly and affectionate (maybe crush or beginning of the relationship) but when she gets affection (the boys are e one starting it) she malfunctions? I’m talking getting clumsy, flustered, blushing, stuttering automatically, kinda comical tbh lol

Thank you and hope you have a good day!

ahh, thank you so much for the ask! :3 i hope i don't disappoint, so here goes nothing!! also, likes and reblogs are appreciated as usual ✩

pairings: (bayverse) leonardo x reader, raphael x reader, donatello x reader, and michelangelo x reader (gender neutral)

will include: fluff

while you're usually the more outgoing one in terms of affection, it's not an excuse for your favorite turtle to be reserved with his. in fact, he has his shining moments!

Leonardo

i personally see leo's favorite form of affection is through a kiss

you frequently give him kisses when you see each other and when you're about to part ways after spending time with each other

leo's favorite place to be kissed is on his cheek. he thinks it's sweet and endearing!

he still remembers the first time you did it to him

"See you tomorrow." Leo bows his head down shortly, before he meets your eye again. He turns his back around to make his jump down the fire exit to your apartment, but he feels you tap on his shell.

When he turns around, he's surprised at how swift you are to plant a kiss on his cheek. It was soft, and he wished it lasted longer.

"Goodnight, Leo." you grin, holding your chin up on your palm as you wave the turtle goodbye.

you know he enjoys the gesture, and you enjoy doing it too him as well. so, it's a win-win situation

until, one night, leo decided to turn the tables around you

You just finished brewing two cups of tea for you and Leo. You held the mugs and carefully made your way back to the dojo, where Leo was sitting and having trouble meditating. You offered to make him a cup of tea, and decided to make yourself one too.

"Here," you offer him his mug, "is your tea. I made sure to brew your favorite pack." You smile at him as he takes his cup from you.

"Thank you." He returns the smile. You hum, taking a seat next to him and blowing the steam away from your tea.

You didn't notice that Leo hadn't stopped looking at you.

You were so focused on drinking your tea, you didn't register that Leo had gently pulled your head towards him.

Then, you felt him kiss the top of your head.

Out of surprise, you spit your tea back in the cup abruptly. This backfires on you, because the hot liquid splashes you in the face and you shriek.

"Oh my mutagen, are you okay!?"

you were flustered that night. when leo usually gives you affection, it's in return of what you gave him

however, that day, he did it without you initiating it first- which is what caught you off guard

leo jokes and laughs about that night as much as he can, making your cheeks red from embarrassment

there is one more thing, however

"I still can't believe you actually spat back the tea over that." Leo finishes his sentence after a while of laughing, while you were busy covering your face and groaning into your hands.

"Leo, pleaaaaase. I beg you to forget about it." You whine, albeit muffled.

And since you were covering your face, you had fallen for the tricks of the mighty leader. Which is using this moment to press a kiss on your head again while pulling you close to him.

"Oh my gosh– Leo!" You uncover your red face to look up at him. He just smiles back before kissing you on the lips this time.

Raphael

i like to think that raphael loves callsigns. however, there are different types to these nicknames

there's obviously the nicknames he uses on the bad guys to demean them

then there's the nicknames he uses on his brothers to annoy them

then there's the nicknames he uses with you (yet)

you see, when you first met, you were already calling raph different things

"Hey, hotshot, could you grab me a slice?" You ask Raph from the couch, turning yourself around to give him a pretty smile.

or...

"Raphie, have you seen my history notebook?" You come up to his room where he was doing reps. He nearly dropped the weights on his feet, had you not exclaimed in time for him to jump away.

it came natural to you to call him special nicknames

and it made raph soft. it made him feel special, because you never called his brothers the things you called him: hotshot, big guy, raphie, and, his favorite, handsome

but raph never showed how soft it made him, of course, it would ruin his tough guy reputation!

he thinks about the names you call him at the end of the day when he's laying in his bed

and, one day, he wakes up with the same confidence as you

You were pissed from school today. Your partner for the project the teacher gave for the period wasn't helping you at all and, somehow, they got all the credit.

You were heading down the ladder to the lair and when you turn your head around, you see Raph lounging by the table and watching the tv from afar.

You hurriedly get down the ladder and start stomping your way to the turtle, ranting about your day. You were standing next to him and obviously fuming, until...

"Slow down, gorgeous/handsome. Grab a slice, won't ya?" He smirks, throwing one hand behind the seat.

Your rant comes to a stammer as you feel your cheeks heat up. You slowly turn your head to the turtle, pointing a finger at him.

"E-Excuse me?" You stutter.

"I said... Relax and grab a slice, sweetheart." Raph chuckles, standing up from his seat and helping you into tour own.

He even had to help you eat, because somehow you were messing up eating a pizza from how flustered you were. He also waited until you could properly function again.

Only to call you with another nickname.

Donatello

personally, i don't see donnie as verbally or physically affectionate as his brothers

however, he is a sucker for acts of services

and it just so happens that you enjoy doing stuff for donnie. handing him beakers, writing down notes when his hands are too occupied, and bringing over food and telling him to take a break

"Hey, the guys ordered pizza." You step back in his makeshift lab with a plate full of pizza for you two to share.

You take your seat next to Donnie, who was soldering wires together for a new machine he was making. You hum, tapping on the table gently to break him from his focus.

You learned to not tap on his shell from the last time. You nearly got spilled with deadly chemicals...

Eventually, he pushes up his goggles and meets your eyes. His face softens into a smile and you could feel your heart swell with joy.

"Time to take a break, Donnie." You tell him, watching him set aside his project before you place down the plate of food to share.

"Thanks," he says, "I really would miss more meals if you weren't around." He adds, grabbing a slice. You click your tongue while shaking your head.

and once you're out of the lair, the rest of his brothers (without missing) collectively turn their heads to the lab to hear the squeal that echoes through the entire sewer

he goes to bed at night thinking of all the things you did for him that day

sometimes, he wishes he had the confidence you had to treat you just as fair

however, it's as natural to him as it is to you

You squirm uncomfortably on your chair because it was wobbling. That's unusual, considering Donnie does his best to make his workspace as comfy as can be to enhance his focus.

Donnie seemed to notice how uncomfortable you were and paused on his work. "Here," he stands up from his seat and guides you onto it. "Sit on my chair for now." He smiles at you before facing his work again. "I have a big suspicion that Mikey broke my chair bouncing on it earlier." He clicks his tongue as he rolls his eyes.

"Uh-Uh huh..." You reply softly, cheeks turning red and body turning stiff. You were so in your head, screaming about what just happened, you didn't notice Donnie glancing at you when he asked you to reach for his solder.

He chuckles and taps on the table space in front of you to break you out of your daze. You do, but there is still blush on your cheeks. "Did I do something wrong?" He asks softly and you quickly shake your head.

Michelangelo

this one is a bit difficult to write, considering mikey is the most affectionate of his brothers- but i realized something

other than april, vern, and casey, you're the only other human he's ever interacted with! what makes you different is that, you're more affectionate compared to the other three

he's not used to it! you're so sweet that he ends up freezing on the spot whenever you run up and give him a hug, which he returns ofcourse! after some stammering...

"Oh, hey Mikey!!!" You spot him at the bottom of the ladder as you make your way down and call for his attention. He looks up and grins, waving at you.

"What's up, my favorite human!?" He greets you back with just as much enthusiasm.

"Come on, catch me!" You yell and jump off from the ladder with the widest smile.

Mikey panics and quickly stretches out his arms to catch you. When you land in his arms with no effort, aside from a small 'umph!' from you once you landed, you're giggling and wrapping your arms around his neck.

"Nice catch!" You tell him, giving him a pat on his shell before asking him to put you down. You walked away to greet the other turtles, leaving the orange masked turtle in shock.

because you're the first human to ever be affectionate to him, he isn't as confident as he thought he would be when it came to this type of situation!

he likes you, definitely. so when his brothers find out, they all just laugh it up by saying its just his nerves.

mikey 'psh's them and says he doesn't get nervous around you

but sometimes he gets caught in the moment

You recently bought a new game and wanted to play it with the turtles! You got down to the lair and immediately invited the first turtle you saw, which so happens to be your favorite turtle.

"Mikey-angelo, my guy!" You grin and jump your way over to the couch, where he was. He greets you with the same enthusiasm and you two share a high five.

You mention the game and the two of you don't waste a second in getting it set up and handing each other the controllers. It was a multiplayer game and you two had to work with each other to reach the set goals.

You two played for a while and after an hour or two, you finally defeated a boss for the mission. You cheer from your spot on the couch and turn to high five the turtle, but...

He cheers louder and gets up from his seat, grabs you by the sides, and lifts you up. He spins you around in joy, and you would join him in cheering, but there was one problem.

You're so surprised by this that your face turns red as you admire the turtle's face. He had the widest smile, and you can tell how relieved he is to have defeated that boss. He looked so happy.

When he opens his eyes, he stops spinning you when he realizes what he's done. He begins to stutter as he awkwardly sets you down, and you turn your head in hopes to calm your blush by not looking at him.

Then he brings back your attention by asking, "let's order pizza?" You quickly turn your head back and nod frantically. You go for your pocket to pull out your phone, but it slips from your hand.

Mikey watches as you comically keep trying to catch your phone, but it keeps slipping until it falls on the floor.

You two stare at each other for a while, but it ends with the two of you eventually laughing.

"Who knew you to be the touchy turtle, Mikey." You comment between chuckles.

"I am! I am the touchy one! I just get nervous!"

[toujoursrab]

Prompt: Miss (@into-the-jeggyverse) | Pairing: Jegulus | Word Count: 476

“I miss Regulus.” James whined, turning from his back to lay on his side so he could face Sirius. His best friend was laying next to him, staring up at the glow in the dark stars on the ceiling. It was almost embarrassing, but the constellation Leo glowed particularly bright in comparison to the rest.

“Prongs, dating my brother is one thing, hearing you whine about him all summer is another.”   

James let out a sigh. “I hear you whine about Moony all the time, even when he’s in the same room. I haven’t spoken to Regulus since the train, it’s been three weeks.” They couldn’t even send letters, but James had been writing them anyway with the thought he could give them to Regulus once they were back at Hogwarts. Regulus liked reading, so James had taken to writing him notes and letters that he snuck into his robes or bag during term. He wasn’t allowed to send owls to Grimmauld Place, so they were currently in a no contact situation. “Do you think he misses me?”

“Oh yeah, knowing my brother he’s going mad without you.”  Sirius paused, twisting his lips. “Although descending into madness isn’t strange for a Black, it’s quite common. I blame the inbre—” he was cut off by a loud, quick series of knocks at James’s bedroom window.

James and Sirius shared a curious glance. “Expecting anyone?” The younger asked rhetorically before rolling out of bed, grabbing his wand and waving it to turn on the light as he went to the window. James pulled back the curtains, hazel eyes widening. “Regulus?” he immediately opened the window, helping the sixteen year old climb into his room from the outside. “How did you—this is the second floor…”

“I’m aware, James. I climbed—”

“Most people use the door.” Sirius commented, not letting his own surprise show at the sight of his brother as he sat up on the bed. His eyes darkened, gaze intense as he eyed Regulus’ body for any sight of physical injury, only relaxing when he came to the conclusion there were none.

James was doing the same, his hands roaming the sides of Regulus’ torso, still in disbelief that he was actually here in his room. “Are you alright, Reg? Did something happen?”

“No—nothing happened. I’m—I’m fine. I just… you know.” Regulus grabbed for James’ hands to hold them into his. “I missed you.” He didn’t say anything more before he leaned in and pressed a chaste kiss against James’ lips which the Gryffindor happily returned.

“No! No! No! NO! NOOOOO! Rule number six of dating my brother clearly states ‘no kissing in front of Sirius’!” Sirius grabbed the pillow that was beneath his head, throwing it right at their grinning faces. “You both have to put a galleon in the jar now!”

[polygonpiscine]

🐢📖 Raph sat cross-legged on the couch, a worn and dog-eared issue of “Jupiter Jim” in his hands. Leo and Donnie entered the room, their usual banter already in full swing.

Raph looked up from the comic, catching the tail end of Leo and Donnie’s debate. He grinned, always entertained by his brothers’ banter. “Ah, the age-old argument: science versus fiction. “Can’t we just enjoy the story for what it is?”

Leo shot a teasing grin at Donnie. “Exactly! Raph gets it. Besides, Jupiter Jim is a classic. You can’t beat the nostalgia.”

Donnie shook his head, unconvinced. “Nostalgia doesn’t make up for scientific inaccuracies, there are way more scientifically accurate space adventures out there grounded in reality, Jupiter Jim is overrated.”

Leo jumped to the comic’s defense. “Whoa, hold up! Jupiter Jim is totally old-school, the OG of space heroes. He’s, like, a classic legend. And his laser blaster? Way cooler than any gadget you’ve whipped up, Donnie.”

“please. Jupiter Jim's laser blasters happen to have a fancy design, that's all. They're not any better than my meticulously crafted gadgets because, let's face it, they wouldn't work!"

Leo grinned mischievously. “And yours aren’t any better, Donnie. They malfunction every time we’re in a tight spot.”

Donnie huffed. “Hey, those were isolated incidents! And I fixed them, didn’t I?”

Raph chimed in with a laugh. “lighten up! It’s just a comic. No need to overanalyze it.”

Donnie huffed, crossing his arms. “Fine, fine. But don’t come crying to me when you need a gadget to save your shell.”

Mikey popped his head in, curious. “What’s all the fuss about? Are we reading comics now?”

Raph gestured to the comic in his hands. “Yep, we’re diving into the wild adventures of Jupiter Jim. You in?”

Mikey's eyes lit up with excitement as he bounded over to the couch. "Absolutely! Nothing beats a good old-fashioned space adventure."

Without hesitation, Mikey plopped himself down right in Raph's lap, earning a grunt of surprise from his brother.

Raph chuckled, giving Mikey a playful shove. "Hey, watch it, Mikey! You're gonna crease the pages."

Mikey laughed, unbothered by Raph’s protest. “Relax, big bro! I’ll be gentle.”

Raph mock-glared at him before wrapping an arm around Mikey’s shoulder, pulling him closer. “Alright, but if Jupiter Jim gets crumpled, you’re buying me a new copy.”

“Always” Mikey beamed

"Alright, you knuckleheads. Chapter one: 'The Galactic Crusade,'" Raph announced in his rough voice, setting the scene. As he delved into the thrilling tale of Jupiter Jim's quest to save the galaxy, his brothers were captivated.

Leo's eyes sparkled with excitement as he imagined himself as the heroic Jupiter Jim, leading his team to victory. Donnie nodded along, though he couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at some of the scientific inaccuracies woven into the story.

"Impressive storytelling," Donnie mused, "but I think Jupiter Jim’s laser blaster would need a lot more power to take down a black hole."

His comment hung in the air, earning him a glare from Leo. "Donnie, can't you just enjoy the story for once without dissecting every detail?"

Donnie shrugged, unfazed by Leo's glare. "Hey, I'm just saying. A black hole is no joke. It’s scientifically impossible for a laser blaster to close a black hole. The amount of energy required would be astronomical, far beyond the capabilities of any handheld weapon, no matter how 'fancy' its design."

Leo sighed, shaking his head. "Sometimes, Donnie, you just gotta let your imagination take over. It’s not always about the science."

As the story ended, Raph chuckled, closing the comic with a satisfied smile. “Taking it one chapter at a time, guys. But I’m glad you’re all enjoying it.”

Leo grinned at his brothers. "Thanks for indulging me, guys. 'Jupiter Jim' may not be scientifically accurate, but it's always an adventure."

Donnie smirked. "Ah, so you admit it's not accurate."

Leo winked. "Well, Donnie, I guess sometimes we just have to let our imaginations defy gravity, right?"

[mythicalninjas]

Hii! First I want to say I LOVE your fics. They're amazing!!

I saw your requests were open and came up with one. How about a jealous Raphael? Maybe reader was training with Leo once because Raph was busy. And he came in the dojo to see them laughing and getting along well, with reader who fell and fell on top of Leo they were just laughing it off. But Raph geta angry and drags reader away to fight about it and maybe some make up smut???

Awwn thank you! Happy to read that!

Rate/Warnings: +18, jealousy, anger, happy ending (make up smut)

Jealousy had always been a shadow that clung to Raphael like a second skin. It was something he tried to keep buried, but in moments like this, it reared its ugly head. The dim lighting of the dojo cast long shadows across the room, flickering slightly with every movement. Raph had been preoccupied all day, leaving his brothers to their training while he handled his own matters. But something had been gnawing at him, an itch he couldn’t quite scratch. It wasn’t until he wandered into the dojo that he realized why.

There you were, laughing—laughing—with Leonardo, the eldest brother. Sweat glistened on your brow, and the sound of your laughter echoed off the walls as you and Leo sparred. You had fallen, clearly tripped during your training session, landing squarely on top of him. For a moment, it was nothing but shared amusement, an easy, innocent moment between friends. But to Raphael, it felt like a dagger to the chest.

His blood boiled at the sight. The way you and Leo seemed so comfortable with each other, how naturally your body lay sprawled over his brother’s. The sight was too much. Without thinking, Raphael stormed into the room, his broad shoulders tense, and his face twisted into an expression that was far from friendly.

“Hey,” he growled, his voice low, eyes narrowing. “What the hell is goin’ on here?”

You scrambled off of Leo, confusion flashing in your eyes as you glanced between the two brothers. Leo, ever the calm and collected leader, simply raised an eyebrow, not yet catching onto what had set his hot-headed sibling off.

“We were just training, Raph,” you explained, brushing off the dust from your clothes. “You were busy, so Leo stepped in.”

“Training?” Raphael spat, his fists clenching at his sides. “Looked like somethin’ else to me.”

Before you could respond, Raphael grabbed your arm—not hard, but firm enough that it was clear he wasn’t asking. “We’re talkin’. Now.”

He dragged you out of the dojo without another word, Leo watching silently, his lips drawn into a thin line. The tension was thick as Raph pulled you into one of the side rooms, slamming the door behind him. The room was smaller, more intimate, and with each second, you could feel the heat radiating off of him.

“What the hell was that, huh?” Raphael snapped, his emerald eyes flashing with hurt beneath his anger. His breathing was ragged, his broad chest rising and falling quickly. “You think I wouldn’t notice? You think I wouldn’t care?”

You stepped back slightly, taken aback by the intensity of his reaction. “Raph, it was just training! Leo was just helping me out because you weren’t around.”

“Yeah? Well, maybe I don’t like the idea of you ‘n him gettin’ all buddy-buddy when I’m not lookin’,” he muttered, though now there was something softer in his tone. The edge of insecurity that he tried so desperately to hide.

“Raph…” You sighed, moving closer, your hand finding his. “It’s not like that. You know it’s not.”

He glared at the floor for a moment, jaw clenched tight, his large hand trembling slightly beneath yours. “I know, but… seeing you like that. With him. It just… it messed with my head.”

You could feel the heat of his jealousy simmering down, though the air between you was still charged. Your fingers slid up to his wrist, tracing the tense muscles there. "You don’t have to be jealous. You know I’m here for you, right?"

Raphael grunted, his body relaxing under your touch, but there was still an intense, lingering tension. Slowly, his eyes met yours, the fire in them shifting from anger to something else entirely. The air between you thickened, and you could feel his grip on your arm tighten, but this time, it wasn’t out of anger.

Without warning, he pulled you closer, his lips inches from yours, his breath hot against your skin. “You think I’m lettin’ this go just like that?” His voice was a low rumble, full of heat and unresolved feelings.

And just like that, the conversation shifted, the jealousy morphing into something far more primal, something that needed release. In the heat of the moment, the frustration, the possessiveness—all of it—boiled over, and Raphael’s lips crashed into yours, full of a raw intensity that made your knees weak.

His hands were everywhere, pulling you close, desperate to remind you exactly who you belonged to. Every ounce of his jealousy poured into that kiss, a bruising, passionate clash of emotions as he pressed you against the wall, leaving no room for doubt about how much he wanted you.

And in that moment, as the world around you disappeared, you knew one thing for certain: no one could ever make you feel the way Raphael did.

"You're... mine.", he growled, sliding his hands down your thighs slowly. Very slow... The way it feels you couldn't describe, but your body can.

Tongues intertwining, hands exploring each other bodies, moans feeling the room. The red-clad huge turtle moves his waist foward, pressing his hardness agaist you. "It is not the en', honey."

[bagels-and-cream-cheese333]

MUST rant about the disaster duo stuff for a second.

it’s prolly a fandom hot take that I DO NOT like fanon disaster duo. like, at all. obviously these characters are just dolls that people get to play around with and make their own stories with, and I love people’s creativity!! I think it’s very cool that people are so invested in these characters and honestly the stories people make with their whole “twin” thing is mind blowing. Poetic, even.

buuuut at a certain point, it just feels like poeple are stretching leo and Donnie’s characters into something they definitely weren’t originally, you know? because SO MUCH of the content I see of them is sickening codependency. and like I get if you think it’s cute to see Leo and Donnie being close twins, but I mean… I’m praying that y’all know that outside of your story, they are DEFINITELY not that close. I mean they’re brothers so they obviously love eachother a lot. But the way I see them characterized sometimes pisses me off.

this kinda stems back to my fanon leo mischaracterization post, but so much of what I see in the fandom is “Leo and Donnie this!” “Leo and Donnie that!” while mischaracterizing them in a way that also somehow disrespects and disregards their connections with every single other character! Its insane! Pretty much everything I see about them is something happening to one of the “twins” and the other being really broken about it and Mikey and Raph acting as nothing more than therapists who “simply cannot understand the level of twinship Leo and Donnie have with eachother!!”. sometimes it borderlines making Mikey and Raph bad brothers which I do NOT stand for. (also note that Mikey and Raph are more often than not being written by people who have NO GRASP on how their characters/minds work, and leave them as empty husks of a turtle. even if a character isn’t your favorite, the least you can do for your audience is learn how to write them.)

aaaaaand here is where we get to thing that inspired this post to begin with. The Twin Thing™. if you’ve noticed during this I’ve refrained from calling them twins without the necessary quotation marks, and that’s because I’m not going to because I don’t think they’re twins. (Which is hella petty, but I’m gonna do it anyway.) It’s pretty much canon at this point that Leo and Donnie are twins, and that somehow they have come to a mutual agreement on this. This is….. uh in the nicest way possible, troublingly out of character? Seeing eachother as twins and calling eachother so possesses a level of self reflection, self consciousness, and emotional intelligence neither of them quite possess, especially at the young ages I see them headcanoned as telling eachother about their twin stuff. I guess I kind of understand people seeing two characters who are similar in height, stature, shape, and who bicker constantly and thought “wow, definitely twins right there!” But really, aside from them both being fan-favorites, there is like. Absolutely no basis for them being twins. I’m pretty sure people only saw two characters they liked separately and thought “huh. wouldnt it be cool if they were like super duper close?” which I guess.. yeah? A lot of the stuff I see about them is super touching and is pretty decently written, but a lot of it seems fundamentally empty because I know these characters would never act this way because they wouldn’t see eachother as twins, nor would they have the twin senses everyone’s talking about. Honestly, in the show, they constantly bicker, and aren’t really that close! The one Leo n Donnie centric episode we have is them competing agaisnt eachother. Not to say that siblings who are competitive can’t love eachother, because they obviously love eachother to the moon and back. But they wouldn’t love eachother more than they love their other brothers.

if you’re asking my honest and humble opinion? Leo and Raph are the true twins in ROTTMNT. The magnetic twins partnership has a lot of hints alluding to this in the show, like Leo being the only one to care when Raph is missing in Man Vs. Sewer for example (something i’m sure that disaster duo fans would use as hard evidence for them being twins if Raph was Donnie.) But in the MOVIE? Oh don’t get me STARTED. Them both sacrificing themselves to save the other? Pure gold (and pure twin behavior if you ask me.) The Kraang Raph and Leo fight scene? LOOK AT LEO’S FACE. LEO’S FACE IS THE FACE OF SOMEONE WHO’S HAVING TO FIGHT HIS TWIN, THE TWIN HE’S BEEN AVOIDING AND MAKING OUT TO BE HIS ENEMY FOR THE PAST TWO YEARS. And in the Bad Future, when Leo wears RAPH’S ARM for a prosthetic once he’s dead?? Literal fan behavior dude. It’s wild. Also, in all of the other iterations I’ve watched, I’ve considered Raph and Leo to be the twins. Why should it be different in rise? @somethin-strange-27 said it perfectly, actually. “They both have the same issues while desperately wanting the other be normal and okay.” that pretty much summarizes the movie. And I can hear the angry mob already, “oh no! but they can’t be twins! they’re both soooo different, they can’t be biological twins!” Well, in almost every fanwork i’ve seen about the disaster duo, being twins is more of a state of mind rather than them being “biological” twins. Them being twins hits home for me more than any random pairing of two popular characters does because they mirror eachother MUCH more closely than leo and donnie.

my final issue with them is that all the disaster twin fans pretty much block out every single other fan of any other duo. It’s been said in @t1atam3ra’s post about the other duos, but there’s so much to the other duos that gets pushed to the side in favor of non-canon and mischaracteristic disaster duo content, meaning that other duos never truly get their chance to shine. Sometimes I even see media that steals rare moments from other duos and makes it disaster focused, which I mean. Sure. Play with your dolls, I guess. Everyone’s entitled to that. But if you’re entitled to do that I’m entitled to feel atleast a little angry about it.

And that concludes my rant. If you actually read all of this then I applaud you. Feel free to DM me if you wanna hear more (surprisingly I could’ve gone on LONGER, but I cut some of it out for convenience’s sake. (Especially if you wanna hear more about how the fandom disrespects raph and Mikey, mostly raph.)) if you disagree then you can just block me or scroll lmao, I definitely don’t expect everyone to like this take.

also note, I DO NOT hate the disaster duo. It’s very fun and chaotic and evil and bickery and I love it. I only have a distaste for the large majority of interpretations of their relationship. Anyways that’s it

[goosewriting]

Falling for you - Part 2

summary: part 2 of falling for you, where reader falls into the rottmnt world and comes across the turtle brothers.

relationship: Rise Leo x gn!reader

warnings: none! 

word count: 1.7k 

A/N: did i totally forget about posting the second part to this? perhaps. did a recent comment remind me of it? could be. was i delighted to find a practically finished version of this in my wips, almost ready to post? absolutely. sorry for the wait, hope you like it!

Navigation: Part 1 | Part 2 (you're here)

(english is not my first language. constructive criticism and grammar corrections are very appreciated!)

— — — 

Climbing out of bed, Leo silently made his way to the projector room only to find an empty couch.

You were gone without a trace.

Or so he thought.

Turns out, you had gone to the kitchen to get something to drink. You were way too shaken up to sleep after what you pulled. The confession had all kinds of feelings and thoughts going through you, confusing you further.

Leo saw you as you came back into the projector room. You were startled at his presence, almost dropping your glass.

The words from earlier echo in your head: “You are loved. You are worthy. You are a good leader. You are a good brother. And if I am still here tomorrow, and the next day, and the next… I wish for nothing more than to be by your side.” That’s what you had told him. To the turtle, you were a complete stranger. Ugh, you thought, as you tried to will away the embarrassment from your face that was resulting in a weird blush.

“You’re awake,” you said after clearing your throat. Leo didn’t answer immediately, and a slight panic started settling in you.

“Yeah, I’m- I’m just…” he stumbled over his words. “I also came to get a drink.”

“Couldn’t sleep?” you asked.

“Uh-huh…”

An uncomfortable silence settled between you two. 

“I heard what you said earlier,” Leo started, and you let out something between a sigh and a snort. With a shaky breath, you approached the couch which was your bed for the night, sitting down.

This is what I get for being so worked up over blorbo feelings, you thought bitterly. Why couldn’t I just keep my mouth shut?!

“Can I…?” Leo asked as he stood by the couch.

“Yeah,” you said as you patted the spot next to you.

After he sat down, you just sit there in silence for a moment as you sipped your water, then set down the glass on the little side table.

“I’m guessing you want an explanation, huh,” you decided to start. 

“Yeah, uh, what you said was very… specific,” he replied with narrowed eyes. 

“Gosh, how do I explain it,” you said, more to yourself than him. “So, uhm…”

You closed your eyes to think of a feasible story, cutting out certain points here and there until you landed on something decent.

“Let’s put it like this,” you started explaining. “I come from a place far away, and I've known about you and your brothers for a long time.”

Leo thought it over for a moment.

“So you’re like, from the future?”

“Something like that, sure.”

“How did you end up here?” he asked after a moment. You sighed.

“To be completely honest, I don't even know. I don't know how to get back, or if I can get back at all. In fact, I don’t know if back in… in my world… if I’m gone there. If everyone I know thinks I just… disappeared. Or if at some point I’ll get back there, appearing in the same moment I left. It will be like nothing happened for the rest. Like at the end of the first Narnia movie, I guess.”

“The narn- what?” Leo questioned with a slight tilt of the head. 

“Never mind,” you corrected yourself, and another silence took over. You cast your eyes down to the floor.

“I can’t tell you about certain events and such, but, I bet you have questions so, feel free to ask them,” you offered without looking at him. He thought it over.

“Well, you said–” A slight blush creeped up on his face. “–you said I am loved. And a good brother and leader. Where did that come from?”

You leaned back into the couch, draping your arm over your eyes and smiling at nothing in particular, if only the awkward situation you found yourself in.

“I know you think you’re the funny one of the bunch. Always cracking jokes. Which I think are actually funny, by the way,“ you replied, and your smile faded as you put your arm back down. “But I also know that sometimes you doubt yourself. And I just wanted you to know that… you're on the right track.”

Leo shifted slightly on the couch, and when you looked up, looking for his gaze, he looked away rather uncomfortably. You bit the inside of your cheeks.

“And look, I know this sucks. Some random person you almost ran over suddenly telling you all this. But I legitimately don’t know if I’ll just disappear one moment or the next, so I just wanted you to know.”

“Why though?” he asked, almost in disbelief.

“Because I genuinely like you,” you replied without hesitation. Your genuine response caught him by surprise, and he straightened up slightly, but then a little grin spread on his face.

“So, if you’re from the future, it’s like you have a crush on a historical figure and now you’re meeting your hero, right?”

You chuckled.

“Well, that’s one way of putting it.”

His hand came to his chin and he thought something over. 

“Maybe we just started on the wrong foot then.”

Folding one of his knees onto the couch so he could sit sideways, facing you, he stretched out his hand.

“Hey, I’m Leo.”

You smiled, taking his hand in yours for the second time that day, and told him your name.

“Delighted to finally meet you,” you added. 

“Always happy to meet a fan,” he said with a wink, and you chuckled at his antics.

“If you don’t have any plans tomorrow,” he continued, almost shyly. “Maybe I could take you out for a spin? And show you around the city.”

“I’d love that,” you replied with a warm smile.

“It’s a date then,” he said as he stood up, but realising what he said, he stumbles over his words to try and save it. You raised your hands to calm him down. 

“I’m not opposed to the idea,” you offered with a playful shrug. 

“Right, well uh. Good night then.”

With that he turned on his heels and left for his bedroom, leaving you all sorts of confused and excited for tomorrow. 

– – – – –

The next day, you opened your eyes, blinking a couple of times, disoriented by the unfamiliar surroundings. Remembering the events of the day before, you sat up on the couch, looking around to find yourself still in the lair. You didn’t know if you were relieved or stressed about it.

What if you’d actually never make it back home? Was this your life now, spending the rest of your days in a fictional world?

Standing up with a stretch, you made your way to the kitchen to join the turtles for breakfast. Well, “breakfast”; it was actually already the afternoon. But they’re essentially nocturnal, so you’d have to get used to their circadian rhythm if you were to stay here. The other turtles greeted you normally, so you concluded that Leo hadn’t told them about your conversation. Good. The less they knew, the better.

After some food and light-hearted conversation, Leo took you out around the city as promised. The first thing you did was getting new clothes, then you went for some snacks and sightseeing. By the time you were done, you were both sitting on one of the taller buildings of New York, watching the last sun rays disappear behind the horizon.

Your legs dangled over the ledge, with your chin resting on your arms over the lowest bar of the railing, and you sighed. No matter how much you wanted to enjoy this outing and time spent with Leo the freaking teenage mutant ninja turtle, there was this one thought hovering over your head, like a fly trying to land on your food. No matter how much you kept swatting it away, it just kept coming back. 

“What’s on your mind?” Leo asked after a while, already being able to read you like a book. 

“I just can’t shake this feeling of… I don’t even know what to call it,” you replied with a sharp exhale. “Just the thought that any given moment, you might turn around, and then poof, I’m gone, you know? I don’t want to just leave like that.”

“I don’t want you to leave either…” he said in a low voice, and you turned to him, eyebrows raised in surprise. 

“Wait, really? You’re not… annoyed by me, barging in like this?”

“No, I mean–” he explained with a lopsided smile. “It’s definitely weird, but it's not a bad weird. It’s like someone finally gets me, really sees me.”

Tilting your head to the side, you leaned your cheek on your folded arms as you looked at him. The half moon markings on his face seemed to glow with the very last drops of sunlight, about to be engulfed by the night and replaced by the moon already peeking out from behind a veil of clouds. The loose straps of his bandana swayed in the breeze, and you were transfixed by this image.

“Yeah, I see you,” you breathed. 

For a moment, there was a strange peace that washed over you, like a familiar soothing voice telling you that it’s going to be okay. Leo held your gaze just as transfixed as you, eyes soft, something unreadable reflecting in them.

The turtle was just about to say something when his phone rang. It took him a second to tear his eyes away from you, then he answered the call; it was Donnie, urging him to come back as there had been a break-in and they had to retrieve some sort of artifact. 

Your heart quickened, immediately thinking of Hypno and… the worm guy – what was his name again? – stealing the key, and you straightened up.

“We gotta go.” Leo moved to stand up, but you held him down by his arm.

He gave you a quizzical look, and that was when you made up your mind: whatever timeline this was, with or without Casey, you’d make sure that the Krangpocalypse never happened. 

You leaned in, placing a quick peck to Leo’s cheek, and his breath hitched.

“Hey, you got this,” you said with a reassuring smile.

He got up to his feet and helped you up as well, holding onto your hand and giving it a squeeze.

“Will you stay?,” he asked, uncharacteristically shy, blush evident, peeking from under his mask. “With me?”

You gave his hand a squeeze back.

“As long as this universe will allow it.”

– – – – –

A/N2: just to clarify, i know the worm is called warren stone, i just wanted to keep the running joke that no one notices him lol 

= = = = =

🐥 taglist: [link to join in my pinned post!] i took the liberty of not only tagging those in the taglist for leo but also everyone in the comments of the first part. hope you’re still interested in this one! and if not, feel free to ignore the tag sdfasdfg

@theoriginalmintyyyshake, @dybynyght, @lieutenantlashfaz, @galaxtic-writings, @Lovestruckfictionadict, @salty-s-r, @sleebykei, @miso-sopas, @duckanon, @wings-of-sapphire, @ashtheboookworm2, @xxnoxx, @crystal-crax, @lunaramune, @luckynesser, @rowaaaaan || @mocchamck, @warrior-girl, @moroneur, @powerauerart, @soulaansugar, @xnorthstar3x, @leafyturtle, @justmare, @the-cute-witchy-writier

[starlightshadowsworld]

Concept: There’s a moment that Jason and Leo have that I feel could’ve been interesting to explore with Jason and Percy.

At the start of the series Leo likes Jason but he’s also very jealous of him. Because Jason is everything he’s not.

He’s tall, blond, conventionally attractive and got the girl. On paper Jason is perfect in all the ways Leo isn’t and he both loves and resents him for it.

And the turning point, when Leo first realises thats not the case is when they all learn about Beryl Grace. But It’s not that Jason’s mother is dead that does it.

It’s that Jason has no memories of her. He is sat listening to Thalia recount a tragedy and for the first time Leo doesn’t envy him at all.

Because the only thing Leo has ever had to hold onto to keep him going is the memory of his mother. His mother was a loving, kind woman and Leo would never want to live a life without any recollection of her.

For the first time Jason looks so painfully lost and alone. For the first time that perfect mask shatters and Leo sees the real Jason.

And that’s who he befriends for real.

Now I’m not saying that Percy is jealous of Jason or that he should be. But much like Leo he also views Jason as this perfect kind of person.

He’s blond superman. He looks like every popular kid that used to bully Percy. And much like Leo, Percy both loves and resents Jason for it.

And I think an interesting turning point could’ve been Jason meeting Sally.

Unlike the rest of his friends, Jason has no real concept of what family and thus what a parent is supposed to be. He never met his father, he met his mother’s corrupted ghost sure but he only really learned about her from Thalia.

And of course he cares about Thalia but he hasn’t been her little brother in over a decade. The closest thing to a parent Jason’s had is Lupa who raised him as one of her own.

But even that was temporary. And well first rule of the Wolf house is self-reliance…imagine learning that as a toddler. And then being sent to and growing up in what’s essentially the military.

All Jason’s experiences with adults are that he has to serve a purpose and once he’s served that purpose, he will be discarded.

Meanwhile Percy, similar to Leo dealt with a lot growing up but he always had Sally. He always had someone he could be himself around. Someone who loved and cherished him no matter what he did.

Jason meeting Sally in my eyes is him doing his best to be polite and respectful. All things Jason does normally so it’s nothing out of the ordinary at first.

His father’s domain does contain hospitality after all.

But it doesn’t ever go away, not even when the rest of Percy’s friends are a lot more at ease with Sally. There’s such a noticeable difference between the Jason that Percy knows and the one that shows up to his house.

To the point he genuinely thinks Jason’s more at ease fighting monsters than talking to his mother.

And while his mind immediately jumps to oh Jason’s showing off or something, Percy quickly tosses that thought out. Because Jason just isn’t like that as a person.

He’s always respectful. He always asks if there’s anything he can do to help. He always sits closest to the door at dinner. He’s the first to leave. He never stays over. He never comes over if he knows Percy isn’t there, even if others are.

He waits to be dismissed at the table. He always looks kind of unsure if he’s left in the room with her…..

And then it hits Percy that Jason is afraid of his mum. It sounds ridiculous but it makes sense. He’s never seen Jason be this tense around anyone. The guy called his dad’s Greek equivalent unwise once, he’s not afraid like that.

But in the face of Sally Jackson, Jason freezes. He doesn’t dare look her in the eye nor even breathe to loudly in her presence. It’s the way Percy once felt around Gabe.

It’s then he realises another heartbreaking thing, that whenever his mum is around Jason seeks him out. Kinda glues himself by Percy for the rest of the visit.

And now he feels bad for being a bit annoyed by it when he wanted to talk to Annabeth and bam there was Jason.

Because Jason was scared and he sought him out. Not even his own sister but Percy. And it’s just this moment where Percy doesn’t see some unstoppable perfect image.

He sees a scared kid. He’s reminded that Jason is only a year younger than him. But he’s been in this fight long before Percy ever knew it existed.

And Jason had no one. He doesn’t know what a caring home is like. So he sees the embodiment of that in Sally, has no idea how to act.

And it frightens him.

Percy wonders how he never noticed it before. How Jason wears such a mask so well. But he’s seen the real Jason Grace.

And he won’t forget him.

[uki01]

Hey are your asks open? If so, can I request a romantic ROTTMNT Donnie and Leo headcanons with a Gender Neutral reader who has fire powers and an affinity for committing arson? Tysm in advance!

”Dancing through Love and Fire”

Rise!Leo and Rise!Donnie x Pyrokine!Reader (Seperate)

Author’s Note: Fire and disaster twins? Absolute fire

Warning: Fire, Action, Damage

Rise!Leo

Leo’s nicknames for you are fire related, as well with making puns when it comes to you

It never stops

But he definitely loves your fire powers

Always whining for you to come cuddle him and uses the excuse of saying he’s ‘cold’

(He’s just clingy)

”Sparkkky! Come over here I’m colddd”

“Isn’t the season Summer though?”

”That’s not the point! I need your warm embrace right here and right nowww!”

This mf be always bitching non stop

Whenever you two make homemade pizza he would use your powers as an oven

Go to the beach for dates to show off your better than the Sun itself

”Hey everybody! Look at my hot partner! Who has hot powersss!”

”Leo please stop…”

He would encourage your arson if it’s against him and his brothers enemies, gets excited and starts clapping like a child when you use your powers

Thinks your very badass

Calls you for cuddling time, even if your busy

”Oh sparkkkkks! It’s time for cuddling! Come on now!”

”Leo I need to finish my homework”

”Now now now! That can happen later! Off we go!” As he drags you out of your desk to the couch

Lays his head on your lap, shoulders or hugging up against you during cuddling hours

You swear you can hear him churr

The little spoon when it’s cuddling time

Hypes you up whenever your using your powers to commit arson on your enemies

“Oh yeah get em babe! Oh hell yeah take that!”

Overall, Leo is a loving annoying boyfriend and adores your fire powers and loves you

Rise!Donnie

Donnie is intrigued by your fire powers, does study and research on you with your consent of course!

“Interesting, how were you able to gain these powers? How were you able to master it? How long does it take to burn someone?”

”How do you keep switching questions”

When Donnie finds out about your love for arson he starts engaging in it

”Yesss! Yesss! Feel the wrath of my beloved who won’t hesitate to use their fiery powers on you!”

Donnie definitely gives you some tech that helps you in your adventures

”Why please! Thank me, of course anyone would love to be in the presence of my tech! It’s very rare for someone as generous as me to give it to you”

“Donnie you always give me them everyday”

Shhh, it’s special treatment because your his and he’s yours

Whenever Donnie is feeling cold he always gets you to cuddle without saying he wants to cuddle with you

“No no this is simply for science, nothing more, so come on, on you go” Donnie pats on the couch

”You can… just ask… you know?”

Cuddling with Donnie is rare but is very very nice, he nuzzles up to you as much as he doesn’t want to admit it

Mainly him laying his head on your lap or hugging up against your chest

Starts hyping up to whenever your using your fire powers

”Yesss! Slay your enemies!”

Overall, Donnie is a caring and bit over the top boyfriend, loves you for your warmth and you

Author’s Note: Hope this is good! Loves these two twins, Leo being my favourite

[hyuneskkami]

✮⋆˙ 𝐂𝐑𝐀𝐙𝐘 = 𝐆𝐄𝐍𝐈𝐔𝐒

⤷ leo valdez x daughter of athena!reader

masterlist

♡ fandom | percy jackson and the heroes of olympus

♡ includes | best friends with hints of romantic feelings (if I ever find the energy to make a part two, it’d actually be cool 😔), barely any angst to comfort, collective adhd levels being off the charts, yapping.

♡ in which | y/n and leo sharing a common love for designing and building things <3, reader and leo, both have nightmares (not described too vividly), reader uses swear words <3.

♡ a/n | jdkfcjqdkb I wrote this and forgot to post it ;-; anyway, this is one of my new fav leo fics i've ever written bc I get to geek out 🫶 + the technical part of this is inspired by my love for fast and furious + my new interest in f1, so enjoy!!

♡ wc | 1.0k

✮⋆˙ y/n’s pov

“are you ready, child of athena?” a god’s voice boomed around us. I took a few steps to the front to be side-by-side with my brother, malcolm pace.

“you’re not leaving me, now of all times—”

“i’m sorry, mou ilios, I have to. you know I do.”

“mal, please, I— who’s going to lead the cabin if you’re gone? how can you be so selfish—”

“you, n/n. I know you can do it,” malcolm said, and stepped in front of me. he raised his hands and gently pushed me further behind him, enveloping me in his shadow.

“it’s one child of athena you want,” malcolm paused. “take me.”

“PLEASE NO—”

fuck.

I sat up on my bed. I picked up a watch from the bedside table—a watch that once was malcolm’s, but mine, now—which read 2:47.

I threw my blanket to the side, which did little to cover me up anyway, and got up to check on the little kids. they were all sound asleep.

for the next 10 minutes—or what felt like an hour—I walked around the cabin, cleaning it up and trying to fall asleep.

but when has sleep ever come to you when you needed it the most?

I feared reliving malcolm’s last moments before he left me, everytime I closed my eyes. stranded me here, disappearing without any advice on how to lead, or how to live.

I leant against the cabin door and felt the cool air from the bottom of the door blowing onto my feet. finally realising that I couldn’t go back to sleep, I decided to go out for a walk.

“and where are you off to?” annie’s voice whispered from her bed. she was still half asleep and groggy.

“heading out for a walk. can’t sleep,” I said.

“take the cap, and don’t get caught. i’m not helping you out with the dishes if you get caught by those harpies,” she grumbled. I smiled and took her cap from the coat rack beside the door, and stepped out into the cold night in nothing but sweats and a tank top.

great choice, y/n. good job on not realising what you were even wearing. now, you can die of the cold, if the harpies don’t get you first. yay!

I put on annie’s cap, watching my shadow disappear with me. I walked around aimlessly, thinking of malcolm helping me pick my first dagger, which was currently concealed with the help of the waistband of my sweatpants.

my feet subconsciously drag me to bunker nine, where I heard noises from. I go closer only to find light glowing from the open door.

I was facing my best friend’s back, hunched over a project, probably. if he turned around, I bet he’d look sleep-deprived and in need of coffee.

before I could take off the cap, he said, “hey, n/n!” and turned around with a grin.

“shut the fuck up, man, how did you just do that—” I complained, taking the cap off.

“I felt the sleep deprivation and negativity enter the room and guess who it was?” he wiggled his eyebrows and left his project unattended behind him.

“whatever,” I rolled my eyes at him and flopped down onto his couch. we looked at each other for an entirety of a few seconds before I opened my arms and he tumbled onto me.

“nightmares?” I asked.

“mhm.”

“same.”

“cuddle?”

“fuck yes, please.”

timeskip

it was around 4 in the morning when we wrapped up our movie night—movie morning?—with leo’s face buried in my neck, cuddling.

“wanna stay like this forever,” he said, his voice muffled. I smiled.

“or we could finish building what you were working on before I came,” I suggested. he looked up suddenly, with all his energy regained.

“hell yes!” he whisper-yelled, pumping his fist in the air and getting up. pulling me up from the couch, he continued. “I was working on building my own 1.6 litre four-stroke turbocharged 90 degree V6 double-overhead camshaft reciprocating engine. there’s these things called street races in tokyo, and this engine is basically my ticket to winning the next series there! wanna come with me and check out the coolest cars ever, next year?”

“oh, dude, you’re on! i’ve heard it’s basically motorsports heaven—”

“it is!”

“and we’re building our own fucking engine!?”

“we are—”

“oh, this is SO cool!”

“i’ve gotta start reworking on the specs, because I keep getting them wrong. can you take a look at them once?” he asked.

I nodded and moved towards his work table where used plotter papers lied. after taking in his planning and figuring out where he went wrong, I pulled out a new paper, and sharpened the blunt pencil.

I wanted to put my hair up but realised I forgot my hair tie at cabin six. I turned around to ask leo if i’d left any here when he removed a black hair tie from his wrist and dangled it in front of my face.

my cheeks flushed at the thought of him wearing it everyday. it felt so intimate, but it wasn’t that deep, really.

right?

I thanked him quietly and he pulled two chairs in front of the table, on which we sat down and started working on drafting the new specs together.

after about an hour, neither of us could keep our eyes open and moved to the couch, falling asleep together with whispered promises of finishing the blueprints the next day.

“cute fit, by the way,” he whispered. I looked down and realised it was his birthday gift to me from last year, and smiled.

[turtleblogatlast]

[ cw: violence mention / death mention / ]

Will never stop thinking about how Leo, all alone in an endless void and being beaten again and again and again by the only other living thing around, still finds comfort in that space. The situation he was in was completely hopeless, and in any other circumstances he would not have escaped, at least not fast enough to save him from permanent (or even fatal) damage, be it physical or mental.

And yet, despite the bleakness of his situation, despite the agony and helplessness, all he needs is one glance at a crumbled photograph, one glance to remember his family, and that’s enough of a reason for him to smile.

Maybe that’s why his powers center around manipulating space - because no matter how much space is between them, no matter how dire his own situation may be, just the thought of his family, alive and okay, is enough to give Leo hope.

[httpvomitello]

OMG, the evil turtle 😭 our ROTTMNT boys will have to be very careful when approaching that little menace. Imagine that tiny monster destroyed all the guys’ things in just a small moment of inattention, and it even seems like it wants to take a bite out of one of its new big brothers (bringing back memories of when the evil turtle destroyed the toys it was given and almost ate Gumball when chasing him)

(Donnie is seeing himself lmao)

It seems we are still in the moment of dealing with the evil turtle 😭😭😭. Hope you like it ♡♡♡♡

Leo prided himself on being calm under pressure(he's not), but the tiny turtle perched in your tank was testing every ounce of his patience. You’d introduced the little menace as “Snappy,” and Leo had thought it was cute. That was before Snappy made it his personal mission to wreak havoc on everything in his path.

It started innocently enough. You’d stepped out of the room for a moment, leaving Leo alone with Snappy. He knelt by the tank, admiring the little creature.

“Hey, Snappy,” he said softly, tapping the glass. “You’re kinda cute for a tiny guy, huh?”

Snappy blinked lazily, then, with a sudden burst of energy, launched himself at the glass, mouth open like a miniature shark.

Leo jumped back. “Whoa, easy there!”

But Snappy wasn’t done. In the blink of an eye, the turtle had somehow escaped the tank and was now on the floor, scuttling toward Leo with alarming speed.

“Uh, (Y/N)?” Leo called, backing away slowly. “We’ve got a situation!”

Snappy lunged at his foot, sharp little jaws snapping dangerously close. Leo dodged, but not before Snappy caught the edge of his bandana, tearing a small hole.

You'd better never know how that little turtle jumped so high.

“That’s it,” Leo muttered, drawing his swords. “I’m not losing to a turtle.”

When you returned, you found Leo standing on your couch, swords drawn, while Snappy circled below like a predator stalking its prey.

“What the heck is going on?” you asked, barely holding back laughter.

“This thing,” Leo said, pointing dramatically at Snappy, “is pure evil.”

You scooped up Snappy, who immediately went docile in your hands. “Oh, come on, he’s harmless.”

Leo shot you a look, holding up his torn bandana. “Harmless? Tell that to my gear.”

Snappy blinked innocently, and you swore you saw the tiniest smirk on his face.

Raph wasn’t easily intimidated. He was the biggest, strongest of his brothers, and he’d faced countless enemies without flinching. But nothing prepared him for Kai.

When you introduced your pet turtle, Raph had laughed. “This little guy? He’s adorable.”

Kai, however, seemed to take offense.

It started when Raph bent down to get a closer look. Kai stared at him, unblinking, before suddenly lunging at the glass. The force rattled the tank, and Raph blinked in surprise.

“Feisty, huh?” he muttered.

Moments later, while Raph was distracted, Kai somehow escaped. When Raph looked up, the tiny turtle was scaling his leg like a mountain climber.

“Whoa! Get off, you little psycho!” Raph yelled, trying to shake Kai loose.

But Kai held on, snapping at anything within reach. By the time you returned, your apartment looked like a tornado had hit it. Raph was standing in the middle of the chaos, and Kai perched victoriously on his shell.

“What happened?” you asked, wide-eyed.

“That thing,” Raph growled, pointing at Kai, “is a demon.”

You gently picked up Kai, who immediately nuzzled into your hand like the perfect angel.

Raph narrowed his eyes. “Yeah, sure, act all sweet now. I know the truth.”

Kai blinked at him, and for a moment, Raph swore he saw a glint of pure mischief in those tiny eyes.

Donnie had always been a man of science, fascinated by the natural world. When you introduced him to your pet turtle, he was intrigued.

“This is Rio,” you said, gesturing to the tank.

Donnie adjusted his goggles, leaning in for a closer look. “Fascinating. A testudine of this size usually displays docile behavior, but he's... ugly.”

Donnie forgot for a second that he was interacting with a turtle of the same species as him. But you preferred to keep it quiet.

Rio blinked up at him, deceptively innocent. Donnie tapped the glass lightly, and Rio responded by launching himself at it, teeth bared.

Donnie pulled back, his brow furrowing. “Interesting.”

While you were in the kitchen, Donnie began jotting down notes, observing Rio’s behavior. But when he turned back to the tank, the turtle was gone.

“The fuc—”

Before he could finish, Rio appeared on the coffee table, where there were some of Donnie's inventions. The tiny terror moved with precision, knocking over delicate equipment, biting through wires, and leaving a trail of destruction in his wake.

“No! Not the prototype!” Donnie yelled, lunging forward.

Rio evaded him effortlessly, scuttling under the table. By the time you returned, Donnie was on his hands and knees, the coffee table was a complete mess.

“What happened?” you asked, struggling to keep a straight face.

“Your pet,” Donnie said, holding up a chewed wire, “is a menace to society.”

You picked up Rio, who blinked innocently at Donnie. “He’s just a little curious.”

“Curious?” Donnie muttered, glaring at the tiny turtle. “He’s a walking disaster.”

Rio, of course, looked perfectly content, as if he hadn’t just destroyed hours of Donnie’s work.

Mikey was thrilled when you told him you had a pet turtle. “A little bro? No way!”

You brought him to the tank, where Ash was lounging on a rock.

“This is Ash,” you said.

Mikey leaned in, eyes sparkling. “Aw, look at him! He’s just like me!”

Ash, in response, lunged at the glass, snapping aggressively.

“Whoa, chill little dude,” Mikey said with a laugh. “He’s got some spice!”

While you stepped away to grab snacks, Mikey decided to introduce himself properly. “Alright, Ash, let’s be buds.”

He opened the tank to get a closer look. That’s when Ash made his move.

In a blur of tiny limbs, Ash escaped, landing on Mikey’s lap. At first, Mikey laughed, but then Ash began his reign of terror.

The tiny turtle scuttled across the room, knocking over Mikey’s skateboard, biting into a pizza box, and even shredding his skateboard design.

“Yo! Chill, dude!” Mikey yelled, chasing after him.

By the time you returned, Mikey was tangled in a mess of torn paper, pizza slices, and an upturned skateboard, with Ash sitting smugly on his chest.

“What the fu... What happened?” you asked, struggling not to laugh.

“Your turtle’s got mad ninja skills,” Mikey said, wide-eyed. “I think he’s trying to take over the world.”

You picked up Ash, who immediately snuggled into your hand. “He’s just a little energetic.”

Mikey sat up, shaking his head. “That little dude’s got more energy than I do.”

Ash blinked at him, and Mikey swore he saw a mischievous gleam in those tiny eyes. “I’ll be ready next time,” Mikey muttered, narrowing his eyes. “Game on, Ash.”

[our-happygirl500-fan]

Something that I have kind of been thinking about is how Rise having new spins on characters from previous iterations such as Raph being the oldest & the leader to start with and Leo being a middle child instead of the eldest is possibly exploring wants & desires that Leo & Raph have expressed in previous iterations.

Raph: Look just because you're leader doesn't mean that you have to get into everyones face!

Leo: Don't start on that leader thing again Raph!

Raph: I'm done taking orders

Throughout the various iterations of TMNT there has kind of been a Leo vs Raph dynamic where though Leo & Raph do unconditionally love & trust each other, still tend to argue with one another. One of their main arguments across iterations seems to be Raph kind of resenting having to follow Leo's orders which leads to Raph sometimes stating that he should be leader instead.

Leo: I'm tired of being the responsible one, when do I get to have fun?

Mikey: I think all of you should just lay off the poor guy, I mean it can't be fun, always being the responsible one and we're the ones who really benefit

Meanwhile something that comes up in multiple iterations of TMNT for Leo is how Leo's responsibilities as the eldest brother & the leader of the Turtles means that Leo kind of finds himself unable to relax or have fun the way his brothers seem to & Leo seeming to find himself either unable to enjoy himself & have fun or not allowing himself to as he believes he has to focus on looking after his family & his brothers.

Raph: I’m the leader. The leader wears the suit.

Leo: Hot Soup!

And Rise, in a way kind of gives Leo & Raph the chance to experience what other versions of themselves have wanted, Raph gets to be the oldest & the leader and Leo gets to be a middle child & have the chance to mess around & have fun for himself.

Raph: Why can't I do this..? I'm failing you

Raph: I only do that because you guys are irresponsible.

Raph: I'm the oldest here. I'm responsible for keeping us safe and making sure we can handle anything that comes our way

Leo: There’s no team with just a faceman. I need my brainy guy, and my smashing guy and eats peanut butter with his fingers guy. I’m nothing without them.

Leo: How come nobody trusts me? None of you guys have any faith in me. Why?

Leo: This whole time I was sure my family needed me, but the truth is I need them

However even though in Rise, Leo & Raph kind of get to experience things that their other selves have kind of expressed wanting in Rise Leo & Raph still have to deal with the other side of getting those wants granted.

In Rise Raph gets to be the leader & the eldest, he's the biggest & strongest brother who his whole family can rely on but on the other side of things he has to deal with stress of being the eldest & the pressure of being responsible for his his family & having to be responsible for them. Meanwhile in Rise Leo gets the chance to have fun to rely on other to take care of responsibilities for him & to have fun & be a kid but on the other side of that he has to deal with his family sometimes no taking him seriously & without the automatic position of eldest brother & son, Leo struggles to have an identity on who he is & his place in his own family.

Something I kind of wonder about is if this is possibly a coincidence or if the Rise team deliberately took the concept of Raph wanting to be the leader & Leo wanting to not always have to be the responsible one that Raph & Leo have expressed in previous iterations & decided to use Rise to possibly explore the concept.

[cursedcatchild]

Ok, so I watched TOTTMNT and I am here to rant. Also, SPOILERS ahead!

So First of all, if I had to sum up my thoughts into a single sentence it would be: For the love of God, put those turtles back together, where they belong!!

I didn’t hate the show, but I didn’t come to like it either. And no, I did not have any prejudgment just because it was a new iteration. Honestly I was super hyped for this version, because the movie was a blast. Yea, I ended up being disappointed. But let me just elaborate on that:

First let’s take a look at our turtles from worst to best in my opinion.

Mikey:

Yepp, ladies and gentlemen so far I have never seen a single iteration where I didn’t come to like a Mikey. He’s always among my favs. But this version felt super shallow. He had just as much screen time in the series as his brothers and yet I still have no idea who this guy really is. His jokes were lame not really landing, I couldn’t really point out any particular goal or insecurity that anyone could relate to. Also, the guy is super oblivious. Like he took ten minutes to realize he walked into a robbery when he went for groceries. Heck he was having a casual conversation with the robbers. 

Leo: 

Another kinda shallow guy. Sure we seen a bit of insecurity, he literally quoted Rise Leo saying “ I’m nothing without them!” but it felt irreal. Because Rise Leo had a reason to think that, he wasn’t as much of a functional member of the team and he was always taken for jokes. But right from the beginning of TOTTMNT we see Tales Leo commanding his brothers, they listen to him  and even say it multiple times how planning is Leo’s thing. So at this point this Leo is just fucking blind. ( Also April slaps instant self confidence into the boy.) 

Raph:

Ok, this is also the first time, but I never really took a liking to a Raph before Tales Raph. Boy is filled with anger and sass, yet he’s not coming off as a total jerk like 2012 Raph. And of course he's not a super softie like Rise Raph ( I don’t hate Rise Raph for being a softie, he's my second favorite Raph) either. He had some fun pipe up and overall a personality I got. I think he’s the most perfect Raph I have ever seen. 

Donnie:

The best character of the iteration in my humble opinion. He was relatable, funny, honestly he was stealing Mikey’s job as the comic relief, but at the same time he’s the smart guy. The boy is ranting about not being the IT guy and then goes reprogramming an evil robot. Oh and he saved so many lifes, because he stopped a fucking train crash. He’s epic, I swear.

(My fave screenshot ever 🤣🤣)

Now story wise:

🔥What the fuck was this dumpster fire?! 🔥Who thought splitting up the turtles would be fine?! 😑Especially in a 12 episode season? Look, I don't mind solo or duo time. There were plenty of good ones, for example Rise. I adored the Mikey vs Leo cook off episode or the Gumbus one, but for the sake of my sanity Rise had twice as many episodes and the turtles were not split up for the majority of the story.

Like I'm not joking when I say they were together in 4 episodes intotal.😨😨

Now I heard rumors left and right that the fact that they need to make a show was thrown at the team at the last minute ( IDK how true is that) , but goodness gracious even if I was presented with the task with a “ Due tomorrow label” I could still write a better story. Especially with the goldmine what the writers decided to ignore.

Yes, something that would've made TOTTMNT be really unique….. School people! We were promised that we will explore the turtles from the teenage side. Ummm….Hate to break it to ya all but I think there is no better way to do that than putting them into school.

It would’ve been fire to see them trying to fit in, balancing all the cool hero stuff with school life, maybe wrecking the school, seeing how other teenangers adjust to the fact that now giant talking turtles are their classmates. It wouldn’t be some crazy mind blowing plot, but I swear it would've been amazing.

Now don’t misunderstand me. Despite the story feeling like being all over the place it wasn’t that super bad, but I’m pissed that it could've been better with ease.

Also another thing that bugged me, is the feeling of something missing. IDK if anyone else who watched it felt like this, but I legit felt like if we just grabbed the for example farm arc from 2012 TMNT and aired it as season 1. The fact that the turtles were split and they kept mentioning that they have always been fighting together made me feel like I should’ve seen them do that.

Anyways, If I did not take your will to watch it away, go and check it out. It's not horrible but not great either. I’m disappointed and I'm gonna need Rise back, thank you very much!

[thebadchoicemachine]

I’m absolutely deranged right now BUT

2012 AU where April is the only one left. Ever. Life on other planets is gone too. The turtles got warped into a cosmic eldritch state (technically gods but like them as people are for sure super dead). The remnants of them follow April.

Donnie is now a force of inspiration, Raph of strength and passion, Mikey of chaos, and Leo of clarity and stealth.

April travels dimension in their ship now, searching for a world just like hers that she can just hop into. Since the multiverse is infinite but she no longer ages she can search infinitely. This drives her a little insane obviously. She’s also run into a LOT of worlds where one of the main four or splinter is dead or where they don’t exist at all.

Then she crashes into ROTTMNT world. Wants a break to hang out there for a moment. Needs a break.

Anyway, then the Rise gang has to deal with this alternate dimension “”April”” who’s clearly Unwell mentally but also can keep up with every turtle in their respective field for some reason?

April goes “MIKEY! Why’re you so small here? You still a weirdo? Good. RAPH! Whoah are you guys different species here? Donnie! You’re even more purple that I was expecting, nice! Can you help me with a tracker—LEOOoooo…. there’s nothing familiar about you to me! but I am happy to see you too!”

After a LOT of convincing they let her stay. They slowly bond discussing their dimensions differences. Eventually April starts saying some really weird things, asking questions about death in fits of solemness, talking to herself as though the tmnt are there, stuff like that. Especially to Rise!April.

Rise!Donnie after snooping investigating her stuff gets it in his head that she had gone insane and killed everyone and was plotting to kill them. His evidence? The braided cloth she wore around her neck was actually all their masks.

Rise!Raph calms him down like “hey. That’s crazy.”

Leo integers with the evidence that SHE (Other [2012] April) is crazy.

Mikey, who’s been oddly silent and hasn’t stopped staring at the masks, (the only one who’s put the empathetic pieces together of the loss April must be going through) begins to ask “What if she just—“

Other April is standing in the doorway with her hockey stick, casting a shadow on all of them. She’s visibly furious, and honestly terrifying as she rushes toward the brothers.

Instead of attacking them, though, she just shoves them out of the way and frantically begins braiding the masks back together.

“You can’t separate them,” she scolded, panic and anger and a deep forlorn in her voice. “They have to stay together. How’d YOU feel if I tore you from your bro—“

She stops realizing how they’re all looking at her. Apologizes. Says she’ll leave now.

Mikey says wait and asks very very gently if she’d like to talk about it. Other April stops. Then breaks down a little.

One emergency session with the whole family gathered later, Shedder asks Other April to begin talking, if she’s ready. She numbly shrugs and says “it’s a short story. I lost everything.”

Splinter goes into a really wise and comforting lecture about how there’s always something left as long as she’s around but Other April snappily stops him.

“You don’t understand. I lost EVERYTHING. It’s not just my dad, or Splinter, or Casey, or Leo, Mikey, Raph, or Donnie. It’s all gone. I can never go home because I don’t have a home to go back to.” She starts tearing up, processing emotions she’s spent lifetimes avoiding with her search. “When Earth was destroyed I thought ‘that’s it. I’ll never be sad again. I just watched billions of people die, I watched my whole life—every human’s entire world—implode. How do you even grieve that?.”

She explains her whole story, though the others ask a lot of questions when she gets to what exactly happened to the turtles, and her goal of finding a home exactly like hers but without an April.

They all agree she’s 100% insane, but genuine, and IS their friend. Lots of good family stuff happens and In the end, Other April is unable to be convinced to abandon her mission of finding HER friends again, but is a lot less one-minded about it. Donnie helps rig her up a way to track the dimensions she’s in both so she can search easier and so she can return eventually.

They all say goodbye, Rise!April gives her the biggest hug imaginable and a bunch of weapons. The boys send her off with a copy of just about every Lou Jitsu and JJ film they can think of, and she’s off.

[helenofsparta2]

Rick did Jason Grace so dirty in HoO

Before I explain, I think I should establish that I really like Jason as a character. While he isn’t one of my favourites, he has really grown on me over the last couple of years. But he never really had a shot with the fandom, after his introduction in The Lost Hero, and after Son of Neptune and a lot of that has to do with the way Rick set him up for failure from the very beginning with a variety of writing decisions. The odds were really stacked against him.

Let’s first recap the very base of who Jason Grace is. He had an unstable mother, who gave him up to Juno when he was two years old, so that she could claim him as her champion. He is the only demigod child of Jupiter, and grew up raised by wolves, then later raised in a relatively strict military hierarchy since a very early age without any knowledge of his mortal family. He had to deal with all the pressure and expectations that came with who his father is. Over time he managed to become one of the two leaders of said hierarchy and has been committed to change its society for the better ever since. He led Camp Jupiter in the titan war and managed to defeat the titan Krios with his bare hands,  He is the long-lost brother of Thalia Grace, one of the more popular characters from the PJO book. He is extremely kind, protective, and loyal, and one of the most powerful demigods in the Riordan verse.

This should have easily made him into a fan favourite character. But what happened instead was for him to become the least favorite member of the seven, to be considered boring and skippable by a lot of fans, and to even get a lot of haters. (I know especially here on tumblr a lot of people really love Jason, but I’m talking about the more general part of the fandom, and I don’t think anyone can deny that Jason gets quite a lot of hate there.)

So, what went wrong?

I think there are three main reasons for the dislike he receives.

Telling, and not showing on part of Rick’s writing

A constant forced comparison with Percy

A lacking character arc in the hoo books

Let’s start with the first one.

Telling, and not showing

Piper’s and Leo’s POVs did him a huge disservice in that regard in the lost hero. During the entirety of the book, Piper wore rose-tinted glasses when it came to him. There is barely a chapter without her glazing Jason, or commenting on his looks or generally how perfect he is. Leo deals with a lot of insecurities and, while not as extreme as Piper, puts Jason also on a pedestal in his chapters. This was, for one, quickly becoming repetitive, but also put a lot of expectations on Jason, which are impossible to meet for any character.

It doesn’t help that Jason didn’t achieve all that many impressive feats in The Lost Hero. He didn’t do nothing, but in comparison to Leo and Piper, he gets a bit overshadowed.

Leo pretty early on established himself as a mathematic genius. He repairs Festus, saves Piper and Jason from the cyclops, and fights against Khione at the Wolf’s house.

Piper uses her charm speak to convince Boreas and his sons to let them go, frees Leo and Jason from Medea’s control, breaks Hera’s cage together with Leo, and is able to revive Jason after he accidentally looked at Juno in her divine form.

Jason, meanwhile, defeats a venti at the Grand Canyon and saves Piper’s life, defeats Lityerses and Midas, and defeats Encaladeus with the help of Zeus.

Don’t get me wrong. Those are great accomplishments and put Jason at the very top of the demigod power hierarchy, but with the way everyone talks about him, and with the standards we already have for children of the big three as readers of PJO, he just falls a bit short. Especially when you focus on top of that on other moments in that book where he gets knocked out by the cyclops or looks unprompted at Juno in her divine form, to list a few examples.

Despite this, his actions and abilities would have probably still made him into a fan-favourite character, if there wouldn’t have been this constant comparison with Percy.

A forced Comparison

Jason and Percy are getting compared in the hoo books in a very obvious way. They are set up as equals by Rick with its entire premise in the first two books and the weird rivalry thing he wrote in Mark of Athena, which is, I think, the main reason why Jason is so disliked.

Percy Jackson is probably the most popular character within the Riordan verse. The only characters who even come close are Nico di Angelo, Leo Valdez, and maybe Annabeth Chase. He is the main character for the entire prequel series, and had much more time to develop and for the readers to get attached to than any other character.

This was a lost battle, even before the first chapter of the lost hero was written. By the time, Percy and Jason meet, Percy was the main character, or at least one of the main characters, in 11 adventures, if you include the short stories, while Jason was one of three POV characters in a single book. A book, where he had amnesia for the entirety of it. People are protective of their favourite characters, and if you make a direct comparison between the most popular character in your franchise and some new guy, even (try to) establish them as equals and force them to have a rivalry, people are naturally going to develop a dislike for the new guy.

And Rick certainly didn’t help matters with the way he wrote them.

At the end of the lost hero, Hera tells Jason, that he is going to be the leader of the seven, but we know he isn’t. We, as readers, who have followed Annabeth and Percy since they were 12 years old, know that he doesn’t deserve this role, judging by what we have seen of him.

Even if he were to be portrayed as strong as Percy in the following books, it would feel undeserved. While we have seen Percy fight the many monsters and titan’s he did in the PJO books, and seen his growth in both power and character, we only get told that Jason defeated Krios with his bare hands. There isn’t even a flashback in either his or Reyna’s POV chapters of the incident, which could have at least elevated this accomplishment.

And then, Rick publishes Son of Neptune and every possibility of Jason being on the same level as Percy gets instantly flung out of the window.

Percy is the MVP of that book. Frank and especially Hazel are awesome, absolutely no discussion there, but for me at least, Son of Neptune was really Percy’s time to shine.  (Though I have to admit, I’m pretty biased towards Percy, so that statement is probably really subjective.)

Even before he leaves for the quest, Percy already killed one gorgon, demolished the romans in the war games, sees through Octavius’ performance, figures out what happened with the golden eagle and proves his selflessness by choosing not to take the gorgon blood to recover his memories. Then later he tricks Phineas in what is for me one of the coolest moments in the entirety of hoo, fights an entire army, destroys a glazier, defeats Polybotes basically by himself and, again, makes a fool out of Octavius in front of the senate, and all that after Rick already nerved him by removing the curse of Achilles.

Comparing especially the fights against Polybotes, and Enceladus respectively does Jason absolutely no favors.

Jason fought good, he fought greatl even, he had this very cool moment with his speech explaining who he was and boasting of his accomplishments, but in the end, his weapon got destroyed and he had to pray to his father to kill Enceladeus with a lighting bolt. That was an amazing feat for a demigod, absolutely no discussion, but really pales in comparison to Percy’s fight at the end of Son of Neptune.  

Percy absolutely bodied Polybotes. I don’t even know if he received a single injury in this fight. The “help” he received from a god was him smashing the decapitated head of Terminus into Polybotes. Like, Terminus didn’t do shit in that fight.

You can’t describe two characters as being equals and then portray so huge differences in their accomplishments.

Yes, Hazel and Frank also often say that Percy is powerful, or a good leader, or handsome, or smart, in a similar way to how Piper and Leo describe Jason, but with Percy it feels more like a reward as a reader. Because we have already seen him be all of that in the original books. It’s just acknowledgement and no new information.

Also, the absolute dissonance between Jason’s disappearance and camp Jupiter’s reaction also doesn’t help him. How can we believe that he is a leader of the same calibre as Percy, when most of the people in the camp he has lived in since he was four years old, don’t even care that much about his disappearance and are so quick to replace him? (Even worse, they replaced him with Percy) I know that this is just the way, Camp Jupiter works, but simply as a narrative choice, it’s very questionable.  

A lacking Character Arc & Amnesia

Coming to the last point. Jason’s character arc in the entirety of Hoo fell flat to me (Though, to be fair, most character arcs, if they even existed, fell flat to me in Hoo.)

His predominant character arc is him struggling with his identity, between being a roman or a greek. Now, this would be a very compelling arc, if we’d know who Jason Grace was as a roman. But we don’t. We know close to nothing about Jason’s life in New Rome. The only meaningful relationship he apperantly had was with Reyna, and he barely thinks about her in his povs, and even in Reyna’s chapters in boo we barely find out about their friendship. The entire camp turns against him in Mark of Athena. By the end of Boo, he still has not regained his entire memory, and never really confronted his past as a praetor. This is not a full, or satiscfactory character arc.

There are many other points I could name, like his relationship with Piper, or how him being Thalia's brother came completely out of the blue, or how he didn't built any meaningful relationship with characters who weren't Piper or Leo in the four books he's been in, but, to be honest, this post is already getting too long.

I'm just frustrated because he could have been one of the coolest characters in the Riordan verse, but he was really sat up to fail.