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Peter Laird (1987)

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Brb crying over the dreamwave comic where Raph helps a little girl and laments over never being able to live normally no matter how hard he wants or tries

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*hands u this*

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March for Raph Day 10 - Hanging With Casey

My own versions of Raph and Casey, just chilling on a rooftop 😌

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Setting aside the canon for stupid dad joke purposes.

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Splinter Week Day 5: Nourish

“Rooibos tea,” Splinter mused aloud as if to himself, though he was fully aware he wasn’t alone. “Although she was unfamiliar with it, Ms. O’Neil was kind enough to seek it out on my request. It is praised for its reduction of pain, inflammation and anxieties.”

All of which he sorely needed now, after his time in Oroku Saki’s clutches; being suspended in chains for so long had the joints in his arms pulsing and crackling with every shift. After a measured breath against the ache and a slow sip of his tea, savoring the warm, nutty richness, he met his son’s eyes in the dark to offer a more direct invitation.

“Come, Raphael. Sit, share a cup with me. From what I have heard, you suffered great pains of your own in my absence.”

“…Leo tell ya that? Drama king,” Raphael huffed to disguise his hitched wince as he pushed himself upright and maneuvered past his sleeping brothers. “Whatever he said happened, it—it was nothin’, Master Splinter. I’m fine.”

The fact that he actually accepted the cup Splinter poured for him, however, spoke volumes. The momentary rattle of the saucer as his stalwart hands shook said even more. Tensing, he went to speak hurriedly over the sound, only for his voice to shrivel as Splinter closed a hand around his for support. The kind touch only worsened the tremor.

“You are not fine. Not yet,” he murmured. “Nor am I. But since you are more concerned with my wellbeing than your own right now, know that it would do me a lot of good to see your hurts soothed too.” Raphael swallowed with audible difficulty as Splinter thumbed his scuffed knuckles. “We are safe. Now we must be sustained so we may heal together. Please, drink.”

He drank.

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Donnie: Can’t sneak in. Security camera.

Raph: No sweat, I got this. *pulls out a pigeon*

Was this a freaking 2003 reference?? I’ve seen people say there were a lot of references in 2012 but I was not expecting this  😂

Of all the references to make. Also, why did nobody tell me that Raphael is the patron Disney princess of pigeons? 2012 might just grow on me after all

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Splinter the Rat

I dunno about you guys, but I like it when Splinter used to be a rat, not a human. I know, I know, "But it makes more sense if he was human!" And that's just my point. Splinter being a lost pet out for vengeance adds a level of surrealism to the whole affair. It makes the whole scenario all the more outrageous that the guy telling Shredder "You killed my family" is the family rat and it's more like, "You killed the humans who kept me warm and fed". Also, it really gives an opening for more character development when the 'wise old master' isn't REALLY an old master (In human terms. As rats go, he's probably outlived them all...until the storyline when he died) and thus has more to learn.

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Two great disguises, all in one episode. I love the noses, but I also love the trash-can look. 

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Legacy | Splinter Week 2025

read on AO3

Casey met them at the door with a pump of hand sanitizer. Raphael snorted derisively, but each of the turtles dutifully sanitized their hands before passing through the door to the apartment above Second Time Around.

When it came to Splinter’s turn, the Casey looked between the hand sanitizer and the rat’s furred paws. Splinter held his hands up anyway, more than willing to oblige the new father’s worries with a smile. Casey only hesitated for a second, then squirted a liberal amount into Splinter’s waiting hands.

By the time he made it around the corner into the living area, the turtles were already crowding into April’s personal space to see the baby. Michelangelo and Raphael each claimed a shoulder, Leonardo knelt at April’s feet, and Donatello had perched on the arm of the couch to crane his neck. Splinter watched as Leonardo furtively reached up and brushed a single, gentle finger over the back of the baby’s soft head. She had just the barest peach fuzz of dark hair there.

As if Leonardo felt the gaze on him, he turned with a flush and lips parted to offer an apology (or perhaps an excuse). When he saw it was only his father watching with a knowing smile, he flushed harder and put his hands in his lap.

“Oh c’mon,” Raphael moaned. “Ya made me her godfather and you won’t even lemme touch her?”

April giggled, carefully dodging Raphael’s equally gentle reach toward the baby. “No! I told you already, Splinter first!”

Her dodge away from Raphael only brought the baby closer to Michelangelo, who cooed and wiggled his fingers over the baby’s face. April held her straight up in the air instead, little pink legs dangling, and Casey swooped in to snatch her. All four of his sons pouted.

“I swear, you guys are worse than Shadow, and she’s three days old,” April remarked.

Though there were dark smudges under her eyes and clear lines of fatigue in her body propped up on the couch, April glowed with the pride of new motherhood. Splinter wished he had not come empty handed; he hadn’t been able to give them anything for the baby shower either, in fact he hadn’t even been able to attend since some of April’s extended family came. 

Casey’s mother would arrive tomorrow to stay in the basement apartment and help care for her family, but in some ways Splinter thought that might almost be a hindrance. He would have brought food for the new parents, but April hadn’t even stepped foot in their underground home since learning of the pregnancy, for fear she would contract some bacteria or disease. None of them took it personally—Donatello had endorsed it wholeheartedly. So there was no avoiding it—there was nothing he could provide for them that they didn't already have. Still, it felt impolite, and itched uncomfortably at his mind as he stood there.

Casey cradled his little daughter to his chest. She looked almost comically small in his arms, like a baby doll. She cooed at her father and he laughed. He looked less tired than his wife, obviously, but still bursting at the seams with joy. Fatherhood suited him, Splinter thought.

Casey looked up and made eye contact with Splinter. He gestured toward the armchair opposite the couch, so Splinter sat. He did not expect for little Shadow to be lowered into his arms in the next second.

He readily took the baby, steadying her tiny, perfect head as he drank in the first sight of her beautiful face. She was remarkably pink, with that dusting of dark hair he’d noticed right away. Her little eyes were closed tight against the artificial lights overhead; he could relate, he didn’t like when it was too bright either. She writhed in his arms for a moment, then stretched her tiny arms overhead, and settled in. He watched all of her little microexpressions like a rat possessed, absolutely sure he had never seen a more delicate creature in his life.

When he finally tore his eyes away from the baby, he found everyone watching him. He tried to wipe the look of awe off his face and remembered too late to quit holding his ears so tightly to his head. He must have looked pathetic, and he laughed at his own embarrassment. He was far too old for such things.

“So,” April began, “you’re aware that Raph is her godfather—”

“And I’m her fantabulous fairy godmother,” Michelangelo cut in, framing his face with his hands and batting nonexistent eyelashes.

“That ain't how that works, bozo,” Raphael hissed.

April rolled her eyes and otherwise didn’t miss a beat. “Well, if you’re okay with it, we���d like you to be her grandfather.”

“Both of her biological grandpas are gone,” Casey said, “and you’re like the next best thing to a dad that either one of us got anyway. So, boom. Ninja Grandpa.”

Splinter blinked in wonderment at the couple, back and forth between their smiling, inconspicuous faces. He looked down at the delicate Shadow in his arms, contentedly napping there.

And then he burst into tears.

Each of his sons had a laugh at his expense and shifted closer to him, mimicking the posture they’d assumed around April to begin with.

Splinter used the back of his finger to wipe his tear off of Shadow’s cheek. She wrinkled her nose as the fur moved across her face, and he laughed at the severity of the expression. She looked just like her father when she made that face.

“Congrats, Pappy Splinter,” Raphael said, slinging an arm around his shoulders.

“She will not call me Pappy,” he said, a curl of disgust on his own lip.

That brought forth fresh laughter.

Splinter sniffed and composed himself. “She may call me whatever she likes, of course, but I would prefer Grampa.” He made questioning eye contact with April, who gave a firm nod.

“Grampa Splinter it is.”

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Ok ok ok guys.

Remember the good gene arch from the 2003 run of TMNT?? Where Donnie got stung by a mutant and slowly got sicker and sicker until he double mutated into a crocodile-turtle hybrid thing bent on destruction?

Remember when LeatherHead said that Donnie’s cells were dying as a result of the mutation and he was going to die if they didn’t reverse it ASAP?

Ok put a pin in that.

Remember Same As It Never Was? Where Don is sent to an apocalyptic future and everything is death and slavery and horrible and his brothers die?

Remember how that futures Donnie went missing?

What if it was because they didn’t know the giant mutant alligator-turtle thing was Donnie, and thus never cured him.

The only reason they knew the mutant was Donnie was because April and Casey SAW him transform, but if Don didn’t mutate at April’s house they would have had no way of knowing what happened to Donnie.

The brothers would have either accidentally killed their brother thinking he was just another mutant, or gone looking for Donnie while he slowly dies from the double-mutation.

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Leave the fighting to me!

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…LIKE A BOSS!!

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I finally had the time to finish this drawing (almost a year later) and I can finally yap about it. I love this show, I watched it when it came out and it was awesome, the animation, the character desing, the turtles' personalities, the villains, THE FIGHTING SCENES. I even liked it more than the movie to be honest, but maybe it's cause I like the 2d style more.

And the moment I saw the intro y knew I had to redraw this frame in my sketchbook, I procrastinated it a lot but better late than never I guess. 🐢🧡❤💙💜

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Day two: companion

There is no loyalty in this battle ((both will be cheating)) may the best gamer win 🙌🙌 the panel of splinter playing their games while they went to bed is like engrained in my mind XD

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I wanna talk about my boy Raph in Season 4 and how much he simultaneously stepped into a leadership role with his family, and also did his best to handle Leo and maintain his own and everyone else's relationships with Leo, while Leo was spiralling with PTSD for much of the season.

It's a bit understated, because the focus is on Leo's breakdown, but Raph does a lot.

Raph starts stepping in more to lead Donnie, Mikey, and in some cases Casey. In People's Choice, he acts dismissive of Leo's moodiness, but also tells Donnie and Mikey to leave him alone and give him space. In I, Monster, he essentially takes over leading Donnie, Mikey, and Casey as Leo gets increasingly preoccupied with the Rat King, also keeps an eye on Leo, and still gets everyone out of there safely. In Dragons Rising, he could have so easily taken Leo's bait and argued back when Leo snapped at them, but he just... lets Leo yell it out, and even tells Donnie and Mikey, "he's not wrong" (don't argue with him). Then of course, in Scion of the Shredder, Leo isn't there at all, and Raph has to get the family through Karai's invasion.

He doesn't completely manage Leo's relationships with their younger brothers, but he does intercede several times, either to prevent a conflict from blowing up (like in Dragons Rising), or to advocate for them when Leo really is taking it too far (like in Grudge Match when he's overtraining them).

When he's working one-on-one with Leo (albeit with Casey and Nobody) in Dragons Rising and Still Nobody, he's calm and competent and gets the job done, and you can see Leo shifting from angry and wired earlier in those episodes to more relaxed - their other brothers aren't there for him to worry about, Casey and Nobody are doing their things, he can trust Raph, he can chill out a bit. On the other hand, Leo loses it in Samurai Tourist when Raph, Mikey, and Usagi get attacked in short order - he has to worry about the group again.

Raph also subtly works at maintaining their brotherly relationships, regardless of how Leo's acting. It's especially apparent in All Hallow's Thieves, when he reminisces and insists on them having fun, crime-in-progress or not. He cracks jokes in various episodes, even if Leo doesn't joke back. He maintains physical affection with him at various times, whether Leo notices or not. He prevails on Leo to let them stay out and watch the President's speech because it's important to Donnie in Aliens Among Us. Hotheaded himself, he rolls with or even enjoys Leo's aggression in Cousin Sid and A Wing And A Prayer. He tries to keep things as normal as possible, even if Leo isn't acting normally in those moments.

He's not always perfect at it, his temper flares up a few times, especially leading up to The Ancient One when all this had been going on for awhile. But overall, he does really, really well in a really understated way. I think Raph had long gotten over coveting Leo's leadership position by this point in the series, and I think he's pretty happy to hand it all back over to a recovered Leo by Prodigal Son. But he should be proud of himself, because he put in a lot of work to be able to step in like that when his family needed him to, all of it must have been incredibly stressful, and for most part, he pulled it off.

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Thinking about '03 Leo and Rise Raph solidarity over getting stabbed and losing an upper left portion of their shells because of it. Thinking about '03 Raph and Rise Leo solidarity over the horrors of being forced to watch it happen