#raph and leo

[karmacomesaround]

More sillies

[that-gay-gal]

Wow, Raph. Thats so inconsiderate of you smh.

Not a super high effort thing but yk I still like it.

Why am I so bad at drawing Leo. This is what I get for only drawing Raph literally ever isn’t it

[iloveacronix]

Whenever someone separates Krux and Acronix it's like separating these two

Its either both of them or neither

[abbielauren2024]

My Separated AU (Name TBD)

Hey everyone! This idea has totally been a brainworm so I finally decided to share it and we’ll see what happens! ^^

SUMMARY:

After the initial mutation and explosion, Draxum managed to save Raph and Leo while Donnie and Mikey were saved by Splinter. At the loss of both his humanity and his turtle friends Splinter slipped into depression, but luckily April soon after met the turtles and became a motherly big sister to them as they grew. Meanwhile Raph and Leo were pitted against each other to train in the Battle Nexus to compete for being Draxum’s heir and the leader of the duo.

Raph was immediately favored by Draxum because of his size and commitment to the craft, and a resentful Leo was quickly swept up by Big Mama, who realized the potential of the young slider whose temperament also reminded her of her dear Lou Jitsu. Of course Raph was then chosen as the leader, which caused the snapper to commit harder to his craft and missions while Leo fully rebelled against his and Draxum’s authority and went off the rails, getting sucked into underground gambling in the Hidden City. Draxum at this point couldn’t care less about the wayward turtle, instead focusing all his efforts into his champion. Raph remained a protective big brother, however, and repeatedly bailed Leo out of bar fights and the Hidden City Jail even though he was severely disappointed in and worried about the slider. Leo’s bitterness increased at Raph’s heroics and his addictions and illegal activity only spirals—no thanks to Big Mama, who taught him how to cheat and takes a portion of his profit.

Meanwhile Mikey and Donnie became closer than close, both being creatives who dream about having their work recognized but acknowledging that it’s impossible. Donnie gave up hope of getting accepted quicker than Mikey, who loves going on patrol at night with his brother to explore the human world. Their story is pretty similar to canon—minus two brothers—until they finally encounter Draxum.

———————————————————

Idk I’ve been really excited about this idea and I hope you all like it too! It was also ridiculously hard to come up with Leo’s jacket color lol, but I’m happy with the black!

Thanks for reading! ^^

Prologue

Excerpts Of Story

How Hueso And Leo Met

[beetleviolet]

So uh... anyone remember this post? About rottmnt Raph and Leo post invasion?

@midwesternvibes i did it.

I didn't go super deep into it because like. What do you even do in that situation lmao. And I'm not sure I did the idea justice. Idk. Might do another draft before I post it on ao3. Super proud of all my metaphors and shit tho.

(Tw: PTSD, panic attacks, crying, negative self talk, suicidal thoughts (kind of?? Blink and you'll miss it. Its a hyperbole anyway but better safe then sorry))

meteor shower (quick, take cover)

The worst part about it was that Raph had seen it coming. 

They were all jumpy. Trigger-sad and still pulling themselves back together. The crashing of pots as they spilled out of the cupboard, and everyone in the kitchen jumped out of their skin. Leo flinched a second time as Raph landed from his (admittedly embarrassing) hop. His little brother's breath hitched and hitched and he ducked his head to the floor, staring staring staring. His cane clattered to the floor. 

“Oh buddy…” Raph dropped his voice soft. Leo's eyes locked onto him. He stumbled, arm reaching blindly behind to find its grip on the counter. He fell, frame shaking. His eyes didn't leave Raph's, Raph's right eye, droning up and down his arm. Hitch, hitch, hitch hitch hitch. 

Raph took a step forward. And Leo-

Leo

Leo raised his arms, taking himself to the floor without the support. He ducked his head, limbs already starting to retreat into his shell. And Leo looked up at him, eyes big and shaking and welled up tears and and and

Beside him, Mikey unfroze, bounding forward before Raph could stop him. 

“Mike, I don't think-” He trailed off as Leo peaked up, reaching for Mikey with unrestrained sobs. He held his little brother close, only looking up to watch Raph. Again, their eyes locked. 

Terror. Panic. Horror. Fear. The hitch hitch hitch when Raph raised a hand. So he stepped back instead. Back and back and back until he was running out of their kitchen, glancing over his shoulder in time to see Leo relax, just a little. Just enough. 

Raph punched his wall. His wall, this time. Not Leo's or Leo or anything else. He breathed, hard eyes roaming and landing on a pile of stuffies by his pillow. 

He'd like to say he did anything else, but Raph fell into bed, held a stuffed cat tight to his chest, and cried. 

The plushie's name was Kitty-Kitty. Once, when they were really little, Leo tore her arm off in a fit of rage and safety scissors. Raph cried and then Leo cried and then Mikey cried, overwhelmed with it all. Leo sewed the arm back on and even added a little heart on her sleeve. The clumsy stitches had long since fallen out, but Raph had sewn them back year after year and kept it and held it close, tight to his chest as he cried like a child. He cried and he cried. It seemed the world was constantly finding new and creative ways to break his heart. (Or maybe not so creative because)

(Well)

(He'd seen it all coming)

Raph let himself drown, let himself toss and turn and wallow in the salty leftovers on his cheeks. Like a beached whale, he let himself wallow, just a bit.

Donnie once said that dead whales could explode. Maybe Raph would explode. He wished he would, just a little, if only so he wouldn't have to get back up and see that look in Leo's eyes ever again. Ever, ever again. 

But he would, wouldn't he? The next panic attack, the next mission gone awry, the next the next the next… It kept going and going. The next… what if Raph got weird again? Leo had always been the best at calming him down, bringing him back. What if Leo couldn't do it? Got too scared, was hurt too bad? Decided that it just. Wasn't worth it. 

Raoh let another wave of tears wash over him. Usually after a good cry he felt cleaned out, hollowed chest and burning nostrils, insides sanded and painted with white wash, fresh and new. Maybe it was just a bad cry, because he still felt all stuffed and overwhelmed and big and heavy and gross, insides all slime and goo and and and

Raph picked up that train of thought, dragged it through his mind palace, and threw it in the moat. 

He took stock. 

Raph was tired. His nostrils burned and any emotion was still a messy, unnamable blarehorn, though his eyes had nothing left to produce but the liquid ache that flowed like a lava lamp behind them. 

Knock-knock-knock-knock-knock

That was Leo's knock. Raph tensed. Leo's knock was usually accompanied by a greeting or a yell or the sound of something breaking. It was odd to just…hear the knocks, all hesitant and lonely. 

“You there, big guy?” There it was. Leo's voice was still gravelly from earlier, still a little quiet. Raph's heart clenched. He stacked his courage and spoke,

“Hi.” Wow. Nice one, Raphie. 

“Hey.” Leo was close to the door. Raph could imagine him, shell against the wall, his arms crossed and head tilted back so he could speak without having to face the quiet subway car, a new dent on its side. 

Maybe he had his forehead up against the cold metal of the sliding door, condensation decorating its surface, staring at the floor. Staring, staring, just a little. 

Or maybe he was just standing there like normal. Raph doubted it, somehow. 

“Listen, Raph, I..” His voice broke, a lightning strike down the middle. Lightning actually does hit the same place twice, Raph remembered Donnie explaining, more likely to, even. “I'm so sorry.” 

“‘s not your fault.” His voice was a twin wobble. Leo chuckled, 

“Heh, snot…” Raph felt his mouth twitch up. 

“...do you wanna come in?” He asked, trying to keep his voice from being all nervous and weird. Like Raph was anything but nervous and weird. Super weird. 

Leo didn't answer, but Raph heard the jerk of the handle and the door slid open. And…

Post-panic attack Leo always made Raph want to scoop his brother up in his arms and never let him go. With red eyes, shaky and distant, quiet breaths before a quick deep one, like he suddenly remembered how. Everything about him was… dialed down. Like he was too tired to keep his brightness up all the way. 

It's not that he wanted Leo to pretend he was okay, but reminders that he wasn't hurt too. And Raph couldn't scoop his brother up and never let him go. Besides the obvious impracticality, he would just make everything worse. 

But his palms turned up without him meaning too, and Leo stumbled forward and wrapped his arms around Raph's neck. Not too tight, just there. Secure. Raph's hand hovered over his brother's shell, not daring to brush the cracks, almost trembling at the thought of falling anywhere near Leo's throat. So small. Leo was larger than life, but Raph's little brother was so, so small. 

“This is lame,” Leo whined, “Hug me!” 

“You sure?” He asked. Whispered. Leo grumbled, tucking further into Raph's chest. 

“It was the Krang, not you.” Raph took a breath, a little shudder, 

“Then it was your brain juice, and not you.” Leo didn't answer for one beat, two, three,

“Then hug me, stupid.” 

“Aye, watch it!” But Leo didn't so much as flinch as Raph's arms wrapped around him, held him close. They breathed for a bit. It was the Krang, not you. Not you. Not Raph. 

Raph pressed his head down, tension whirlpooling down the drain. It was a little odd, wasn't it? Because, well,

 He hadn't seen this coming. 

[flurry-bace]

not the "best" duo, because there isn't one.

(only doing the Turtles, cause if i added April, Casey, and Splinter it'd be too many, sowwy)

[the-vegetarian-artist]

Red and Blue rivalry is just Autism vs ADHD

[incorrect-quotes-lobby]

(On Halloween)

Raph: Oh, they left the bowl out?

Raph: It says, “Take two pieces of candy.”

Leo: Nobody around though…

*Leo grabs the entire bowl and runs off with it*

Raph: NO—

[forgetful-nerd]

Wow he’s been through a lot. I guess I have to be the big brother for him too.

If they ever met, they would both think that they’ve adopted the other as their younger brother.

[tasenwrobots]

Behold, his elbow.

[soranatus]

Richard Chen’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Part V

[that-gay-gal]

A-Team art :3

RAH I love these guys sm and while it might not be my fav duo they are still so awesome

Truth be told I was gonna make this a whole comic thingy but it turned out really good so I just kept it like this

It was for a stupid head cannon I have idk

But yeah I’m pretty proud of this art so that’s cool ����

[fmd-art]

Biblically accurate Rise turtles, with Raf who is basically Gamera and I died a little inside drawing Donnie...

[abbielauren2024]

Okay I MIGHT have a separated AU concept idea coming soon… 👀

EDIT: full artwork out now ✨HERE✨

[miniyunart]

[orione-n-stars]

Just Two Leaders (both are dorks) ❤︎