I really enjoy looking at Donatello's characterisation - especially the 2012 version of Donnie.
I don't know why, but something specifically about the 2012 iteration of our favourite brothers draws me to them. Maybe it's because I think they have the most interesting and unhealthy brother dynamic to explore out of any version of the Turtles. But just to say right off the bat, I don't agree with the statement that Raphael is abusive toward Mikey in this version. I don't think this to be true at all.
But in the 2012 version of Donnie, I think it's the obsessional aspect of his character that I find interesting. People flame him hard for it - which is very valid - the way he treated April was very creepy, and some of the things he did April had no knowledge of, (Like Donnie taking a photo of her and having it as his laptop wallpaper). But I like doing a little more when it comes to characters' less-than-ideal traits. Yeah, what they're doing is bad, creepy, etc. But why exactly might they be acting that way?
For Donnie, I think his problem is how he looks.
In the 2012 iteration, we never really see the turtles have a strong desire to be human. Mikey sometimes doesn't understand that humans will be scared of him, but he never lashes out and has a big moment like, 'I want to be a human so I can make more friends!' We see Mikey wonder what he'd look like as a human in an episode after Donnie creates retromutagen - with Mikey assuming if he used retromutagen on himself he'd turn human and not back into a regular turtle.
It is played as a joke, though, and he doesn't seem genuinely upset by the fact he's stuck as a turtle, as he is seen smiling after saying he wondered what he'd look like.
Interestingly enough, Donnie is the one to be portrayed as having a negative view attached to being a mutant more than any of his brothers.
Outside of being a mutant, it is implied that Donnie already has a fragile self-image anyway.
Remember the episode Turtle Temper? I think it's the third episode of the first season. But at one point, the other turtles are instructed to shoot arrows at Raph, while Raph has to try and avoid the arrows. Splinter makes it clear, however, that Mikey, Leo, and Donnie are allowed to insult Raphael during the exercise.
I've seen another content creator say that the insults they throw at Raphael could be more them self-projecting views they have on themselves rather than them actually thinking these things about their brother. Leo says, 'And you're always whining, poor me, nobody understands me.'
While this is easily applicable to Raph as an insult from Leo - Leo does have his own fair share of moments where he has gone to Splinter complaining that the others aren't listenting to him or respecting him, that they don't understand the burden he has to hold as leader.
Mikey tells Raph he moves like a bloated buffalo - which, although never hinted at in the show, could imply that maybe Mikey is insecure about how much he eats. Maybe his brothers have made comments about his greediness.
Donnie says, 'Oh! You can't keep your back straight during Omote kote Gyaku! And you're ugly!'
I think the first part is interesting as Donnie is the tallest out of his brothers - gangly limbs could mean Donnie has more difficulty knowing how to stand, where to place his limbs, etc. Donnie most likely is sat over a desk all day, and again, being tall, Donnie has more of a slouched posture out of his brothers. I think it was Karai that also insults Donnie in an episode by calling him scrawny, in which he responds, 'And I'm not scrawny! I'm svelte!' Svelte meaning slender and elegant.
Raph has also insulted Donnie's looks before in an episode, and again, it is unclear if this is a common occurrence, but knowing 2012 Raph's character, it's probably happened on more than one occasion.
Donnie : And why do you keep grabbing me by the face? What is wrong with my face?!
Raph: Do you want me to list the reasons alphabetically or in descending order of grossness?
So regardless of being mutated or not, it seems Donnie just has a generalised lack of confidence and some issues surrounding how tall he is.
But to his issues regarding being mutated.
Donnie might've previously not had any issues with being a mutant. Before, it might've been just a general lack of confidence, as I have already said. But in society, looks are always seen as a good trait to possess if you want to have any shot at a love life. You need to fit into the beauty standards and be attractive if you want a partner.
Before April, his brothers would've been the only thing to compare himself to. He lived in a home with only mutants for fifteen years of his life - so had normal teenager issues of going through puberty and insecurities. A lot of people can feel odd/uncomfortable and dislike their growth spurts, which is why Donnie's issues at first might seem like normal things for a teenager to worry about. Donnie's biggest issue would've been how scrawny and lanky he saw himself.
But when they meet April, there is a glaring difference.
Suddenly, there is somebody in his life who isn't a mutant like him. It becomes abundantly clear to Donnie that from somebody else's standpoint, their biggest issue with him wouldn't be his tooth gap or his height, but just the plain fact that he's so different. Inhuman. Out of the ordinary. A mutant.
When he's rambling to Timothy (Mutagen Man at this point) about why April might be on a date with some punk kid (Casey) the conclusion he resorts to is, 'Because he's human, that's why.'
At the end of the episode A Foot Too Big, when Donnie apologises to April, he says, 'I'm just... a mutant.' Again, this shows Donnie jumps to the conclusion that this is why April doesn't want to be with him, not his overbearing nature or the fact that she just genuinely might not be interested. The problem in Donnie's mind is that he's mutated.
The fact that Donnie used the word 'just' implies that being a mutant is all that Donnie has boiled himself down to. He thinks that his other traits aren't worthwhile or good - like him being funny, smart, inventive - because he thinks that nobody would pay attention to him. At the end of the day, he thinks nobody will be able to see him outside of being a monster.
In Fungus Humungous, the hallucination of April that Donnie experiences calls him an 'ugly mutant freak'. It is unlikely April actually thinks this of Donnie, but it's what Donnie thinks she does because it's his biggest fear. I'd like to split Donnie's hallucination into two parts. April insulting Donnie about being a mutant, and Donnie's hallucination of April kissing Casey.
We see April kissing Casey. I think the fact that this part of the hallucination comes second is meant to represent that this fear of rejection and not being able to find love is two sides of the same coin. His fear of April choosing Casey is a by-product of his main insecurity. We are shown April calling Donnie an 'ugly mutant freak' first. Donnie isn't afraid of rejection in itself.
In the first half of the hallucination, it shows that April uses a sharp tongue like a whip.
This tongue is shown to go through Donnie's heart and subsequently breaks it.
"To have a sharp tongue" means to be quick to criticize, speak harshly, or make cutting remarks; essentially, someone who is often unkind or sarcastic with their words.
I think this represents that, over anything, it is April's words that break his heart more than her actions. It is her disgust at him being a mutant that shatters him. It's what makes him crack in the episode. He starts screaming, runs away, and shouts that he, 'doesn't want to hear anymore.' This is Donnie's breaking point. Her sharp tongue and words, over her actions like kissing Casey, that is Donnie's true biggest fear.
Donnie doesn't want to be with April purely because he loves her. To Donnie, it would be more than April simply making a choice on who to partner up with. It would be confirmation for Donnie that the issue all along was because he's a mutant.
The point I'm trying to make is that Donnie is obsessed with trying to improve his own self-image than actually liking April.
He wants to use April as a means to prove someone could love him despite appearances because, as I said earlier, looks are important to a lot of people. Gaining a romantic partner would most likely grant Donnie the confidence, the consolidation that he 'isn't ugly after all' because he managed to gain a partner. That is why he so desperately chases after April.
He chases after the feeling of confidence.
His character kills me.
If u follow me on Insta u already saw this ermrmm awkward!! But these are my 2012 human designs, I took a lot of creative liberties obviously.. So I thought Id explain their designs a bit here!
Mikey - I gave Mikey a lot of colors based off of his siblings because I think he takes a lot of inspo from them, or LIKE HE LOOKS UP TO THEM YOU KNOW?? I think Mikey knows who he is but the colors are kind of a homage to the ppl who r a huge part of his life, hes a very big people's person so it makes sense to me.. His mask tail is tied around his belt!! All the characters have their mask tails somewhere. also Mikey totally would wear socks and sandals lmaoao
Leo - transfem Leo as always!!!! So true! I gave her more Ninja-like clothes bcuz I don't think she wears casual clothes unless she's going to sleep. Her hair is tied up in a braid bcuz u thought it would be cute lolol oh and her mask tail is in her hair
Donnie - close toed boots is a requirement!! He works in a lab! But also he undermines safety ruled by not tucking his hair away properly lol I just know it catches on fire all the time. Also that's why his eyebrows are burnt off, if he ever had facial hair it's def scorched now LOLOL and the mask tail is tied around his belt!! Which is probably another safety hazard lol
Raph - I definitely wanted to give him a boxer feel even though he's a ninja. I think boxing would be more his style not that I don't think he doesnt enjoy being a ninja, but I think a lot of the times raph just wants to skip the stealth and jump to Combat lol. He's got the most scars for sure! Hence the bandages reaching higher up on his arms than the rest (I do this on my reg raph design too lol) and his mask tail is tied on his head!
based on someone irl finding out i was a tmnt fan, asking who my fav was, and being like "oh but not 2012 donnie right đ" like um. get my babygirls name out of your mouth
Oh mi gosh it's been so many months... hahah
I promise I'm still alive! And I'm still working on these parts, slowly but surely
Anyway here's part 2
Summary: Reader has a nightmare, Donnie and Reader have some cute moments, there's a fight, a kid gets kicked somewhere during it, Bertha is sassy.
Warnings: There is a ghost of proofreading somewhere in between drafts, read at your own risk. Mixed POVs. Slowburn? Mentions of blood, swearing, strangers to reluctant friends trope, mentions of reader's mysterious backstory, some semblance of an action scene, this chapter is filled with some general trauma, self deprecation and angst on reader's part, she also gets shot. Reader is really going through it todayâ˘. The whole shebang.
Word Count: Around 7.5k words. Trying to keep these parts roughly the same size
Dumb.
Stupid.
Fucking idiot.
The words ricochet inside your skull, each new one made your heart throb. Breathing felt like a chore, almost as if a heavy anvil was pressing down onto your chest, suffocating you, killing you slowly.
The air felt like lead, thick and unyielding. Your head spun as the words echoed with each unsteady step you took down the cold, empty hall. Just a little further, you told yourself, but the hallway stretched on endlessly, twisting in impossible directions, a nightmarish labyrinth. The generator, the exitâitâs just there around the corner, I know it is.
But no matter how many doors you passed, no matter how many corners you rounded, you were trapped. The silence was deafening, only broken by the agony of his voiceâraging, desperate, each yell like a blade scraping against your nerves. He was getting closer. He was almost right behind you.
"Come back here!" His screams of agony hurt your ears, but each new insult, each new threat, it was loud and clear.
The sound of metal crashing, doors ripped from their hingesâ Nathan's fury echoed through the labyrinth of this forsaken place. You couldn't run fast enough. You shouldn't have been so foolish, to think you could find a solution, to think you could find a cure? What a sick joke, and now you've only made everything worse.
Holding back sobs and sniffs you try to make it through the twisting nightmarish halls of the abandoned laboratory, you had to make it to the generator. Your hands shake as you press them against the walls to stop yourself from tumbling over.
Stumbling close to the generator you grab your laptop. Focus, you tell yourself as your sweaty hands struggle to work. All you need is to divert the power, lift the lockdown. Just one more click, and you'll be out in no time.
But the generator sputters and dies, and the lights flicker, plunging you in an inky darkness that almost sticks to your skin, thick and heavy like oil. Your fingers tremble, sliding over the cold keyboard, too slippery with sweat to type correctly. You can feel your grip slipping, losing control as the reality of your situation closes in.
The laptop crashes to the floor, a dull thud followed by the sound of cracking glass as the screen shatters and the glitches. No, no, no... Panic quickly sets in as you take it back and try to get it to work, you groan in frustration and punch the screen, the glass digs into your knuckles and the laptop dies completely. The weight of the world presses down, suffocating, it's over.
You hold your breath, placing your hands over your mouth to keep yourself as silent as possible as you can hear his heavy footsteps running through the halls. *Maybe he won't find me.* Your heart races, and then you hear itâthe claws, the scraping sound growing closer, more predatory. *He found me.*
A heavy weight slams into you from behind, throwing you to the floor with bone-cracking force, you can feel a sharp pain shoot through the entirety of your side as you hit the ground. You cry out and gasp for air, but the world spins wildly around you as dagger sharp claws sink into your skin, tearing, ripping through your flesh. Your scream echo through the lab, but there's nobody to hear them.
A flicker of light reflects in his claws, glinting sickly red in the darkness. You can see your own terrified reflection in his crooked glasses. You try to apologize, to beg, but your voice is lost in the storm of pain shooting up from your arm. His claws rise above you, poised to strike.
You shut your eyes, bracing for the end, raising your hands in front of your face as if you could prevent the final, fatal blow.
---
You shoot up in bed, gasping for air, your heart hammering in your chest. You could almost feel the taste of blood still in your mouth, the ghost of a metallic, sickly tang that doesn't leave.
Your hand fumbles for the gun beside you, gripping it so hard that the cold metal leaves imprints in your palm. Bloodshot eyes dart wildly around the room, the pitch black suffocating you in its oppressive silence. The sound of your own ragged breathing fills the room.
"Anybody there?" You say it no louder than a shaky whisper, barely audible in your dark room.
Nothing.
Your gun slips from your grasp, clattering against the floor. You raise your trembling hands in front of your face and grasp your prosthetic pulse, cold, shivering. You close your eyes, your heart beats against your chest so hard you can feel it against your ears. You slow down your beating, attempting to calm yourself down.
It's gone, he's gone, it was just a nightmare. I'm in Bertha, I'm safe.
But even as you repeat the words like a mantra, like a prayer in your mind, a chill runs through you that makes your stomach sink.
I'm not safe. I'm never leaving this hell.
You feel your breath hitch, and for a moment, you almost laugh at the absurdity of it all. What am I doing? You push the hair sticking to your face back, your hand slick with sweat. The dayâs events replay like a cruel joke, from barely escaping savages to stumbling across a mutant turtle in a robotâs bodyâwhat was this, some kind of twisted science fiction book?
Every breath feels like itâs pulling you deeper, suffocating you with the weight of everything. The guilt spirals through you like a whirlpool, drowning you. Mistakes, regrets, all of it leaves you empty, and the cascading of silent tears starts to stream down your face.
The sheets, once comforting, now feel like needles, the fabric scratching at your skin, irritating. The symbol of comfort that used to be your refuge is now just another reminder of everything youâve lost, everything you canât escape.
You sit there, breathing raggedly, unsure if youâre trembling from fear, guilt, or something far worse. Maybe itâs all of it.
You're not sure how long you stayed like that for, the same thoughts spiralling through your head like a tornado of guilt, eating you up inside as each new mistake leads to a new wave of shame, and each regret you remember just fills you with despair.
You push the sheets aside, letting them fall to the floor.
It doesnât matter. Nothing does anymore.
You get up from the bed before you could go over those dark thoughts any longer. You roll your shoulders and pop stiff joints as you shuffle toward the window. The blinds creak as you pull them open, and sunlight spills into the trailer in a soft golden flood. Itâs warm on your faceâgentle, like the world hasnât gone to shit âand for a moment, it almost feels normal. Outside, the sand has settled. The stormâs over. You survived another night.
You linger there longer than you should, blinking into the light like it might make you forget of the darkness inside of your heart. But then your mind driftsâ Donatello, heâs still here, somewhere in your trailer. That strange, unexpected guest. The memory of the nightmare loosens its grip just enough to let curiosity take its place. You drag your fingers through your hair and wipe at your face, muttering a quiet curse.
You make a half-hearted attempt to look presentableâjust enough to avoid pity or prodding questionsâthen open your bedroom door and step into the main cabin.
Empty.
The trailerâs still. Quiet.
Your brow lifts slightly, suspicious. No heavy footfalls, no mechanical humming. Just silence.
Did he leave?
Your stomach tightens. You stride over to the cabinets and start checkingâdrawers, toolboxes, storage crates. The essentials are still there, mostly. A few tools missing. Not much else. No signs of a scuffle, no busted locks.
If he looted me, he did it politely.
Still, you frown. He wouldnât have just wandered off with a toolbox in his handânot into this wasteland. Not without wheels. Even someone like him wouldnât last long alone in the open desert. And he didn't strike you as stupid.
You glance toward the door, heart beating a little faster nowâ Where the hell did you go, Donnie?
The low sharp hiss of something sizzling snaps you out of your thoughts.
You pause with your hand resting on the trailer door, thumb brushing the worn edge of your gun. Carefully, you step outside, blinking against the dry glare of morning sun. The storm had scrubbed the sky clean, and now it hung cloudless, a sickly pale blue. You follow the faint sound of whistling, trailing it to the front of the trailer.
Heâs under it. Of course he is.
Metal legs jut out from beneath the frame, kicking slightly as he hums a tuneless melody. Your eyes drift to the open toolbox by his sideâyour toolboxâand your brows knit together. Unbelievable.
You cross your arms, tilt your head, watching in silence. He mutters to himself, something about rust patterns and heat damage and "whoever welded this should be arrested."
"Hey," you say, flat but firm.
THUNK.
A hollow metallic crack rings out, followed by a yelp. You cringe at the sound.
"Gahâdesert apples!" Donatello slides out from under the trailer with one hand pressed to his forehead, a faint scuff marking the metal. The light of his visor slightly brightens, adjusting to the sun as he looks up at you, then he does a small head tilt. "Good morning. Didnât think youâd be up so early."
You arch an eyebrow. "Didnât think Iâd wake up to someone crawling under my home."
He shrugs, unapologetic. "Thought Iâd pitch in. You saved my shell, after all."
Donnie gestures toward the frame and taps it with a knuckle. "Figured your girl here could use some TLC. Judging by the way this thing's rattling, Iâm guessing you mistook a cliff for a speed bump?"
You stare at him, arms still crossed, lips twitching.
"Something like that. What are you doing, exactly?"
He sits up and casually gestures toward the undercarriage. "Your girlâs suspension was practically crying. I figured Iâd take a look."
You frown. "You couldâve asked me before tinkering with it."
He shrugs. "Didnât want to wake you."
Your gaze lingers on the toolboxâhow neatly heâs laid everything out. You walk closer to him and crouch near your tools: "What did you touch?"
"Only what was already broken." He raises his hands slightly. "Scoutâs honor."
You glance at him sideways. "You donât look like the scout type."
"And yet here I am. Fixing your suspension."
You press your lips together, trying not to let the hint of amusement show. You grab a wrench and nod toward the trailer.
"Fine. Let me make sure you didn't rig anything up to explode, and if anything else breaks after this, Iâm blaming you."
Donatello chuckles. "Deal."
You both spent the next half hour working in near silence, the occasional scrape of tools and muttered commentary filling the air. You kept your distance, arms crossed, throwing sideways glances when he wasn't lookingâor at least, when you thought he wasn't. He didn't say much, focused on his repairs, but there was something oddly calming about watching him work. Mechanical precision mixed with something more... thoughtful.
"You sure thatâs the right bolt?" you asked, crouching nearby, arms crossed.
He slid out slightly and stared at you. "You're gonna have to be more specific. There's like⌠fifty bolts under here."
You arched an eyebrow. "The one you just dropped, again, for the third time. You sure you know what youâre doing under there?â
His voice floated back, smug. âOf course I do! Iâm not just a pretty shell, you know.â
Before you could answer him, Berthaâs dashboard lights flickered to life, and her voice croaked online, dry and annoyed.
"System diagnostics: 74% operational. Suspension barely hanging on. Probably because someone thinks duct tape is an acceptable structural solution."
"Bertha,â you sighed, "It's good to hear from you again."
"Yes, well. Hard not to wake up when Iâm being ârepairedâ with the finesse of two raccoons in a toolbox."
"Oh, excuse you." You answer her back. "Sorry if we have to make do in the middle of an apocalypse, not professional enough for ya."
Bertha ignored you, voice feigning weariness. "Honestly. Iâve survived mutant raiders, electrical storms, and a sand vulture infestation. But this? This is the real test."
Donatello stifles a laugh as he wipes oil from his hands. "Sheâs... charming."
"Sheâs mouthy," you mutter, though thereâs an edge of affection in your tone.
"Oh please, I'm starting to think you enjoy it."
Donatello looked at you, his voice clearly amused. "Is she always like this?â
"Built-in personality chip," Bertha said. "Came with âadvanced diagnosticsâ and âunfiltered sarcasm. At this rate, Iâll be road-ready in... oh, a week. Maybe two."
"Oh please, spare me the drama. We're almost done, you'll be fine." You answered her sass with some of your own.
Bertha sighed dramatically. "Iâll start drafting my will just in case."
You rolled your eyes, shaking your head with a grin and patting the trailer on it's hull. "Glad to have you back, Bertha."
"Of course you are," she said. "Who else is going to keep you two from turning me into a glorified tin can?"
After the light banter with Bertha it didn't take you and Donatello too long to get the trailer fixed up. Once everything was ready, Donatello helped you take the tools back to your trailer and you told him you could take him wherever he needed, he seemed satisfied to be left at the nearest village, so that's where you two were headed to.
He climbed in beside you on the trailer, you grinned as Berthaâs systems powered up completely and the engine hummed back to life.
----
You toss a scratched-up CD into the player. An old rock tune crackles to life as the trailer rolls out into the wide-open wasteland, tires kicking up dust as your home-on-wheels trudges forward.
The silence between you is thick. Not hostileâjust awkward. Like two strangers stuck in an elevator, except the elevator is a solar-powered survival trailer in the middle of a sun-scorched desert filled with feral mutants, and one of you is a six-foot tall turtle in a robot body.
You keep your eyes on the road. What do you even say to someone like him? Nice weather for the apocalypse? Itâs easier to just focus on the path ahead. Still, you steal the occasional glance. He hasnât said much since you left.
Meanwhile, Donatello was stuck in a similar predicament, he sat stiffly in the passenger seat, fingers twitching in thought. He wanted to ask her a hundred questionsâabout her, what was her life like before, what she liked, how she built Bertha âbut every time his voice threatened to start, the words got caught in his voice modulator. She didnât seem like the type who liked being pried into, and he didnât want to ruin whatever fragile peace was forming between them.
He let out a soft, synthetic sigh. You caught it, glancing over with a raised brow, but said nothing.
His mind drifted back to Raph. He tried not to let the concern take root, but he just couldn't shake the feeling. Where are you, big guy?
"So." A sweet voice derailed his train of thought and he looked at the human. He tilted his head in curiosity, "you said you're good with car repairs, right? Why's that, were you a mechanic before all of this?"
Donatello blinked and looked at you. The question surprised him.
"Not exactly," he said, rubbing the back of his neck. "I used to build some things before this... There was the Party Wagon, the ShellraiserâŚ" He started counting on his three-fingered hand, and you had to stiffle a laugh at the names.
You quirked a brow. "The Shellraiser?"
He could hear the amusement in your voice, even if you were trying to hide it. âHey! What's wrong with the name?"
You fought back a smirk. "Nothing! It's actually perfect, it's just, is everything you make turtle themed?"
"Hey, it's a great theme."
You gave a small chuckle, but quickly looked away, fingers tightening on the wheel. "Right. Speaking of which, you said you were a mutant before this. Was that before or after the mutagen bomb?"
"Always been a mutant." He replies flatly, but that peaks your curiosity.
"Really? Were you never human?"
"Nope." He shakes his head, "I started out as a baby turtle, me and my brothers got hit with the ooze and here I am."
"Huh, that's, interesting." So he was always a mutant, you wagered it wasn't much different from some of the younger desert folk, but it was still something curious. "So if you were a mutant before all of thisâ what was your life like?"
âOh, it was the best. My fatherâ Master Splinter, he taught me and my brothers everything we knew. Ninjutsu, discipline, philosophy... how to fight, how to think.â He gave a soft chuckle.
He leaned back on his elbows, exhaling. âBack before all this... before everybody went crazy and the sand swallowed everything... we fought to save the world from these things called the Kraang. Nasty alien brain-things. They tried to take over the Earth. We stopped them. Barely.â
You watched his body language shiftâshoulders slumped, nostalgia softening into sorrow.
âI had a lab. Gadgets. Friends. Pizza. And my brothersâRaph, Mikey, Leo. We fought, we joked, we looked out for each other.â
"Seems like you all were quite close." You comment and he nods.
"We didn't always get along, but, we cared about each other." He shifted in his chair and left out a soft, glitchy sigh. "Raph and I had a big fight before the fall. Stupid stuff. Then we were ambushed. I lost him.â
Donatello looked over at you, a quiet fire in his visor. âI have to find him."
You nodded slowly. âIf he's out there, weâll find him, Donnie.â
His antenna shifted and with the way he tilted his head, it almost seemed like he was smiling, for a moment you both fell quiet again.
"And what about you?" Ah, of course he'd ask you.
"What about me?" You stole a glance at him, before looking back at the desert.
"What was your life like before all of this?"
You sigh.
"Well, I asked you about your life, only fair you ask about mine, I guess." You shift in your seat. "My dad worked at TCRI," you said, almost surprised by your own voice.
"He was a chemical engineer. Smart, kinda goofy, loved soccer and puzzles. He used to bring home all kinds of weird samplesâcrystals, spores, little things in jars that glowed when you shook them." You smiled faintly at the memory. "Said his research was going to 'change the world.'"
Donatello looked up, attentive but silent.
"I was just finishing my engineering degree when he sat me down one night. Looked pale like death. Said there was something wrong. Said the guys he was working for weren't who they said they were, that they were actually something called the Kraang, sound familiar?" She looks at Donnie for a brief second. "That he thought they were aliens from another dimension. I thought he had lost it. But then⌠he made me promise Iâd run if anything happened to him."
Donatello's voice softened. âThey took him?â
You swallowed and nodded.
"He was taken the next morning. By men in suits, in black vans. I didnât even get to say goodbye. That was the last time I ever saw him."
Donatello didnât speak, just listened.
"So I ran. Hid out. But I couldnât let it go. I needed to know what happened to my dad," You gave a bitter laugh. "I thought maybe if I, I don't know, solved the mystery of my dad's disappearance I could stop whatever was coming. Maybe even find him."
She glanced over at him.
"Then the bomb hit. Just like that, all of it, gone. And, well, I was the only survivor, in a way."
"I lost my home that day too," he said. "My friends, my brothers. All of it."
Your brows knit together and you shake your head, voice low. "It sucks, right? Funny thing is, even after everything that's happened, I never stopped thinking about him. Even now, I wonder what happened."
"I'm so sorry that happened to you." He whispered your name at the end.
You looked at Donatello thenâreally looked. Even though he didn't even have any facial muscles to speak of, you could swear you saw a hint of something behind his visor. Different stories. Same pain.
"Yeah, well." You shrug, "Me too."
Donatello didnât reply right away. But he reached out and gently placed a hand over yours. The metal was cold, but the gesture itself felt warm. He gave you a good squeeze and then took away his hand, he didn't say anything afterwards, but the silence didnât feel as awkward anymore.
------
Youâre cruising the desert highway, dust curling in your wake when something catches your eyeâa cluster of suspicious movement in the distance. You squint. A little girl, strung up in the air, restrained and apparently asking for help by the way she was flaining wildly.
Donatello almost jumps in his seat and grabs the panel of the trailer, clearly having noticed the scene and wanting to do something about it.
Your stomach knots, you're almost driving over. Fingers tighten around the steering wheel. But then you see itâlight glinting off something at her hip. Too shiny. Too deliberate.
You slam your foot on the pedal and jerk the wheel hard, veering away.
"What the hell are you doing?!" Donatello shouts, twisting in his seat. "It's a kid!"
"Might be bait," you mutter, eyes fixed ahead. "Savages pull this trick all the time. You stop to save the helpless kid, and suddenly your tires are gone, your supplies tooâand if you're lucky, you walk away."
"You donât know itâs a trap!" He protests.
"I know enough," you snap, offended. "And Iâm not dying over a decoy."
Donatello stares at you like heâs seeing you for the first time. "Seriously? Thatâs it? Just keep driving?"
You glance at him, jaw tight. "It's not our problem."
His voice is sharp, angry now. "Not ourâ? Wow. I thought you were better than this."
You laugh, dry and bitter. "Better than what, exactly? You donât know me."
"You're right," he says, quieter now. "Just... I thought you were better than someone who turns their back on a kid."
You look over, ready to fire something backâbut the passenger doorâs wide open, and Donatello is nowhere to be seen.
âDonnie?" you call, blinking in disbelief.
"He jumped. If that wasn't obvious enough." Bertha chimes in.
âOh forâgoddamn it. You want to die? Fine by me. Stupid, fucking, robot, ugh." You slam your fist on the steering wheel, cursing under your breath. His words echo in your skull.
"I spent whoever knows how long oiling that jerk's joints and now he wants to go out into this scorching heat and die over some, scavenger ambush, that's fine." You shrug and monologue loudly, biting the inside of your cheek in frustration and pushing your foot deeper into the pedal. "Totally cool. Cool, cool, chill. Awesome sauce."
Your grip tightens and on the side of your eye you catch a glimpse of the photo you keep close to the panel. It's a photo of you and your Dad, the only one you had left. You pick it up and look at him, a bittersweet feeling washes over you and you look outside of your window, Donatello's figure becoming smaller and smaller in the distance.
You think back to the last day you saw your Dad, the last time you saw Nathan, how both of those times you ran off, and never saw them again. You sigh in frustration, then whip the wheel around.
"Heyâuh, whatâs happening?" Bertha chimes in, voice dry. "Because if this is another one of your spontaneous heroic breakdowns, I would like to register a formal complaint."
"It's not a heroic moment, it's a me doing something stupid moment," you mutter, flooring it toward the kid.
"Stupid, confirmed," Bertha replies. "Shall I ready the medbay? Or the flamethrowers?"
"Both, and ready the guns."
The trailer roars forward, kicking up dust and fury. When you're getting closer your see, the spikes they throw on the ground and the savages that ride in on their motorcycles when they notice you approaching rapidly, shouts rising and weapons fumbling in surprise as Bertha readies her own.
Your front tire burst with a deafening pop, the whole rig lurching sideways. You lose control as the trailer fishtails wildly across the cracked asphalt.
"Shitâ!" you yank the wheel, but itâs too late.
Metal screeches. The trailer slams into the wall, the crunch of impact ringing through your bones.
Smoke hisses from the hood. You cough, blinking through the haze. Your fingers scrabble at the jammed seatbelt, adrenaline still spiking.
So much for this morningâs repairs.
You can hear the sound of gunshots and fighting outside, but you couldn't see Donatello through the clouds of dust.
You kick the door open and rip your seatbelt. Berthaâs guns whir to life, spitting fire at the circling savages as you bolt into the chaos. Sand and smoke sting your eyes. You pull a knife from your boot, heart hammering and cut the rope that was keeping the girl strung up in the air.
"Heyâeasy," you call, crouching low as you reach the little girl on the ground. "Iâm just here to get you out, okay?"
The little rat mutant hisses at you, feral but as you tell her your intent, she slowly stops flailing. She hesitates and seems to consider your words. Then she nods.
You slash through the ropes around her wrists, the tension in her limbs easingâbut the second you cut the binds on her legs, she bites.
"OWâwhat the hell?!"
Her sharp teeth sink into your hand. You hope she doesn't have rabies. Before you can shake her off, she grabs your knifeâand your gun. Fast hands for someone so small.
You spot a glint on her hipâanother weaponâand realize too late: sheâs pulling something. You kick her off instinctively, and she tumbles back with a growl.
"What the hell, kid?! Give me that back!"
"No way, you filthy human!" she snarls, scrambling up.
Called it. Your gut churns.
She kicks sand straight into your eyes. You scream, blindedâthen a shot grazes your ribs. Pain flares sharp and hot. You hit the ground, groaning, crawling backward as a dust cloud swallows the fight. You canât see a damn thing.
As you try to find your footing, sharp claws grab at your hair. You shriek, kicking, thrashing, but itâs no use. Youâre yanked through the sand like a rag doll, away from Berthaâwhose wheels now spin, shot to hell, her guns silent.
The savage drags you up by the roots of your hair, forcing you to your knees. Blood trickles down your scalp. He presses a rusted machete to your throatâclose enough that when you swallow, your skin kisses the edge.
"Itâs over now, girl," he growls, breath hot and rancid. "You and your friend thought you could steal from us and live?"
You glare at him. But the fear? Yeah, you're not hiding it as well as you'd like. He laughs when he sees it.
"Any last words?"
You eyes dart around the place, where did Donatello go? He was there for a second, and now he was gone.
He ditched me. Your heart tightened. *Of course he did, maybe he was with them, and this was all an elaborate ruse for me to let my guard down. Well, shit, joke's on me for having a bleeding heart.
You turn your gaze to the ground, and then look up with teary eyes, looking at the savage with what seems to be a regretful look behind your long lashes.
"Yeah, but I'm shy, come closer..."
The savagemoves closer, ever filled with malice, you almost vomit in your mouth from their stench, but you wait for him to get close enough until you land a heavy ball of spit right between his eyes.
Asshole.
"Go to hell."
Laughter rings around you. The savage wipes the spit off his face with the back of his mutated hand.
And then, everything goes back for a secondâpunctuated by the dull crack of the butt of the weapon slamming into your skull. You could feel the metallic taste of blood in your mouth.
This was it. Youâd finally run out of luck.
You clenched your teeth, eyes screwed shut, bracing for the killing blowâbullet, blade, didnât matter.
But nothing came.
No sharp pain. No final breath. Just... silence.
Tentatively, you cracked one eye open, expecting to see the afterlifeâor nothing at all.
Instead, you saw Donatello.
He struck like lightning, his bo staff slicing through the dust with terrifying precision. One savage dropped. Then another. A third went flying into the wreckage. Every hit was calculated, every movement deliberateâfluid, graceful, lethal.
You stared, jaw slack. âWhat the hellâŚâ
Berthaâs voice crackled through the static, distant but urgent. âAre you just gonna sit there drooling or maybe fight back sometime today?â
Snapped out of your daze, you scrambled for a weaponâ anything, the savages flew around you as you crawled through the sand in search of something, there! An old pipe club half-buried in the sand. You kicked one of the scavengers in the gut, then swung hard, knocking another across the face.
The mutant kidâthe one you tried to saveâstill had your gun, and she was trying to make a run for it. âGive it back!â you barked.
"No way! Die, human scum!" she shrieked, firing. The bullet grazed your prosthetic arm. You growled and smacked the weapon out of her hands with the club.
She dove for it, but you were quicker this time. You caught it and turned it on her. She froze, wide-eyed.
You hesitated.
She was just a kid. A snarling, weapon-stealing mutant bratâbut still a kid. Maybe in another dimension, if she hadn't been cursed by being born in this apocaliptic hellspace, maybe she could have been a regular kid, laughing with her friends, talking about makeup and boys or whatever kids would have been into, rather than trying to kill you.
You pointed vaguely to the horizon. "Go."
She hissed at you, then bolted, sand kicking up in her wake, you could see her one of the motorcycles from the savages and drive off into the distance.
Breathing heavily, you turned toward the wreckage. The savages were either unconscious or fleeing. Donatello stood in the center, bo staff resting on his shoulder, breathing steady.
"I didn't think you were coming back. What, did you have a sudden change of heart?" He asked sarcastically, but underneath it you could feel a hint of something else. You weren't sure, and you didn't feel like asking.
"Yeah. Yeah, whatever you pulled at my heartstrings and I couldn't watch you die to an obvious trap. You sure took your sweet time saving my ass though," you muttered, brushing sand off your shirt as Donatello came closer.
He smirked. "I think you meant to say âthank you." And then he looked at the way you stumbled over your feet and the way your held your side. "Are you okay? Did you get hurt?"
"That damn kid tried to kill me." You touched your side and groaned. "But that happens twice a week, I'll be fine."
"Can I take a look?" He seemed regretful, even if he hadn't apologized for the ordeal. You sighed and rolled your eyes. "I'm fine. Really."
Donatello took a step backwards, he almost seemed ashamed as he lowered his bo-staff.
You squinted at the mess around you.
"What the hell did you do to them anyway?"
âLetâs just say... being a robot ninja turtle in a desert full of psychos comes with certain advantages.â
You stared. âShow-off.â
He shrugged and you both started gathering gear, with Donnie tugging one of the savages' motorcycles upright. Donatello checked the engine, nodding. âThis oneâs salvageable. I guess I'll take it and uhm, get out of your hair.â
You raised an eyebrow âWait,â you said.
He paused.
You kicked a rock and looked up at him. "Look. You may have gotten me to drive into this... whole situation, but you saved my ass. And I donât exactly have a five-year plan... so if you wanna find your brother, I'll help you, if you want.â
His body language shiftedâjust a subtle lean forward. âReally? Thatâd be amazing!â
"Yeah, and it's gonna give you time to male up for almost getting me killed." You gave him a crooked smile.
Together, you patched up Bertha quickly before any back-ups could arive, you replaced the tires, and Donnie hooked his brotherâs tracker to your radar. The signal was weakâbut it was there.
Soon enough, you were both riding out across the open desert.
----
"Just let me take a look at it!" He protested, following you around the trailer with a clean rag and a half empty antiseptic in the other.
"I've got stabbed more times than I can count, I'll be fine!"
He crossed the short distance between you. His metal joints whirred softly as he followed, as you tried to leave he walked into your path, everytime you stepped away, he was there. You groaned in frustration. "Come on, it's my fault. Let me help you. You got bit and you got shot, I swear I'm a decent medic."
"Oh my god." You threw your hands in defeat at the air. "Fine, I give up."
You groaned and relented, pulling your jacket off and unwrapping the crusty bandage you had put together earlier. He leaned in, his visor narrowing in concentration as he inspected the wound. His fingers were carefulâgentle, despite the cold metal.
âBullet just grazed you,â he said quietly. âCouldâve been worse.â
You winced as he sprayed the last of your antiseptic. "Couldâve not been at all."
"You did save a kidâeven if she tried to kill you afterward."
"She tried to kill me before I saved her," you muttered through gritted teeth.
He chuckled softly, then carefully wrapped your side with clean gauze. "You didnât have to come back. But you did."
"I wasn't gonna let you get killed after I put so much effort into saving you." You retorted, and he let out a soft laugh.
His hand moved to your bitten palm, and you flinched as he wiped the wound clean.
âShe got you good,â he said. âIâm starting to think she was half piranha.â
You smirked. âI think she was mostly brat.â
He got some needle and thread that you kept in your medkit and started to stitch the wound together, you both remained silent while he patched you up, once he was done he sat back with a satisfied hum. "There. Not perfect, but itâll hold. And you wonât die of infection, so⌠win-win."
"What about mutant rabies, hm?" You look at your bandaged hand, you had to admit he really was good at this. It made you wonder how much 'practice' he had. "Did you think about that?"
"She didn't look like she had mutant rabies to me, I think you're gonna be fine."
"I wouldn't bet on those odds."
You flexed your fingers, looking at the clean bandages. "Thanks," you said, a little softer than usual.
He tilted his head slightly. "Anytime."
You pulled your jacket back on, trying not to look flustered. "That doesnât mean you get to play nurse every time I scrape my knee."
"No promises," he said, leaning back with a smirk. "Youâre kinda accident-prone."
You snorted, tossing a pebble at him. He caught it mid-air, just to show off.
You rolled your eyes and returned to the driver's seat, Bertha had been driving while you were away and apparently nothing interesting had happened so far, so you settled into place and Donatello followed suit, sitting in the passenger's seat.
-----
"I got it! His phone's signal is close by." Donatello almost chirped when the little dot on the radar became stronger. You two had been driving the entire day, the sun was almost setting when you finally reached Raphael's signal.
"It leads right into those ruins." He pointed at what was left of an old road town, now beaten and battered by constant storms, desert raiders and sandworms.
"Let's be careful. It could be another trap."
You park close enough to the town that you and Donatello could bolt to Bertha if things turned south, but not to close she would be vulnerable to any sneak attacks.
You keep your gun drawn as you and Donatello make your way through the ruins, your finger just barely grazing the trigger as you round the corners, the sand crunching beneath your heels. Everytime you heard somethint louder than a whisper you would instinctively hold your gun tighter and feel the back of your hand burn.
You and Donatello were quiet as you cleared the town, the only residents left were bone and dust, if anybody ever lived here, they were long gone by now.
You made your way around a particularly tall wall, ready to shoot at anything that seemed like a threat, but instead you saw a big graffiti on the wall, it looked recent.
Coming closer your eye caught a glimpse of a reflection from the ground, it seemed like a small phone half buried in the sand, it's screen black. You made your way over the phone and picked it up with your metal hand, swiping away the dust and the sandâ the tiny phone had a rounded backside, resembling a turtle's shell. Yep, definitely Raphael's phone.
"Hey I think I found something." You call out to Donatello.
He rounds the corner, you place the phone in his oversized three fingered hand and he looks it over carefully.
"This is Raph's phone." He confirms your suspicions and turns it on, the screen flickers for a second before a glitchy voice comes from the tiny phone.
He stares at the screen for a moment longer, then tilts it slightly so you can see. The video file flickers to lifeâgrainy, damaged, but it plays.
You can barely see anything through the damaged screen, but through the parts that are still semi-functional, you can see the loose shape of a large green man. His face is covered with dirt, blood crusting his temple, eyes red-rimmed. He looks angry. But underneath that... he looked tired.
"Don⌠if youâre seeing this, I guess you're going through my stuff again." He let out a chuckle that turned into a strained cough. "Look, I know we don't always agree on how to go about things, I guess you'd say that's always been on brand for me."
"But listen⌠things got messy after our fight. I don't even know if you're out there still, but if you ever come across this, I shouldnât have walked out, but I needed space. You were right, we shouldâveâ"
The phone glitches out, the sounds unintelligible before it sputters back to working, but the video gets more and more glitchy as it keeps going.
"If you come lookingâ" The video cuts and you can barely understand the next words coming out, "The old radio towerâ" it cuts again "I'm waiting, little brotherâ" and it dies.
Donatello tries to turn it on, but finds no success. He let out a frustrated sigh.
"Is it broken?"
He shakes his head, "I donât know."
"I have some tools back in Bertha, maybe you can fix it in there." You try to be a bit optimistic, noticing the shift in Donatello's mood. "You might find more clues."
He doesn't answer you at first, staring at the black screen in his hand before turning his attention to the wall, which had been forgotten by both of you until now.
"That's the symbol of the muskrats." Donatello points out.
"What?"
"They're a bunch of thugs me and Raph ran into a couple of months ago. They almost trashed my truck." He touches the wall and then rubs his neck. "If they took him, oh boy..."
You hesitate, but put your hand on his shoulder and pat him awkwardly at first, but then give him a good squeeze.
"He looks tough, I'm sure he's fine. Look, he said something about an old radio tower. I have some old maps, and maybe we'll find something on that phone. Do you think you can fix it?"
"Maybe. If I can turn it on, I might be able to find something else."
You watch the emotions shift through him â relief, guilt, hope â all tangled in silence.
"Let's hunker down for tonight, Donnie."
---
The fire had died down to low embers, casting long, flickering shadows across the sand. The desert wind had quieted for the night, save for the occasional rustle of grit brushing against Berthaâs worn hull.
You tried to pass the time fiddling with Bertha's panels, but Donatello insisted â insisted! â that you get some rest so as to not ruin your new stitches.
It was funny, in a way, you barely knew each other but he seemed so protective of you, in his own way. Fixing your trailer, patching you up, so even though having someone telling you not to tinker with your own trailer was annoying, you begrudingly compliedâ for now.
You leaned back on your elbows, legs stretched toward the dim glow, a mutant cockroach and a fat beetle on a stick barely caught your attention.
Donatello sat a few feet away, one knee drawn up. He was quiet. You watched him for a moment before speaking.
âIs something on your mind?"
He looked over. "Just thinking about Raph."
"I get it." You nod. "But we'll find him."
He nodded.
Silence followed. You grabbed a stick and started poking the fire, stirring up sparks.
âThis⌠whatever it is between us. Itâs weird,â you muttered, not looking at him.
Donnie looked up at you. "Because Iâm a mutant turtle in a robot body, and youâre a grumpy desert scavenger with a death wish?"
You smirked. "I'm not that grumpy."
You could hear Bertha's mock laugh coming from behind you, and you threw a pebble at her, which earned you a fake 'augh, the painâit's unbearable!' from her. You rolled your eyes and ignored her theatrics.
"I havenât talked to anyone like this in a good while, unless you count Bertha. It's....odd."
Donnie chuckled softly. âI dunno. I think it works. Youâre tough, resourceful. A little intense.â He tilted his head. âIn a good way.â
You let out a 'psst' sound. Not letting yourself believe the compliments entirely. Your gaze dropped to your hands, fingers tightening unconsciously. There was a long pause. You could feel his eyes on you but didnât look up.
"Iâm glad we ran into each other," he said softly.
You didnât answer right away. Finally, you muttered, "Iâve had worse company."
"Youâre terrible at this, yâknow that?"
The corner of your mouth twitched, almost a smile. You both turned back to the fire, saying nothing. The beetle popped, spitting juice into the coals.
Eventually, you said, "Get some rest, Donatello. Big day tomorrow."
He nodded but didnât move. "Yeah. You too."
Some biology textbook / vintage anatomical studies inspired 2012 donatello fanart đ I wanted to add labels to make it seem more authentic, but gave up after realizing procreate's text feature is so clunky, lol.
- Compy
Me: this idea will be a short fic, something to get me back into doing some writing quick
Also me: *immediately writes 9k words*
Donnie would be a fool to think his older Sister wouldn't be as much of a threat as his brothers- LMAO
I was originally gonna do something different, since my goal was to draw some sibling dynamics with Karai, but then this idea popped in my head and it made me laugh- I was gonna include Raph laughing hysterically in the background and even making a comment about how any of them (siblings wise) could ask April out better than Donnie could, but I didn't have enough time since I promised to start up Shredder's Revenge- đđâ¨
Aaaa I love this so much and I can totally see the resemblance, it would have been so good if this was explored in the show, especially considering how at times Chris Bradford/Dogpound seemed to be a loose parallel to Leo and Fishface clearly was very similar to Raph and even seemed to have a redemption arc being foreshadowed, especially in Baxter's gambit and him helping the turtle's when TigerClaw starts Shredder's cult.
I would have loved to see that kind of dynamic explored more.
I think it would have been really funny for the main 2012 Shredder villains to have a similar dynamic to the 2012 Turtles- Where they're constantly doing goofy stuff as group or getting in each other's way during missions but in a really dumb way? I don't know how else to explain that- Lmao
(I missed a lot of little details + I was going to color it but I didn't, I'm sorry- I'm super tired and I got my blood drawn today which sucked ass, so I just wasn't feelin it- đ)
Random pet peeve of mine, but I would like to see more shorter fanfics that mention other characters in the canon
I guess it might go without saying that some of my fanfics focus on not only fleshing out the turtles but also the other characters in the story that I feel were heavily sidelined and had so much potential, I know a lot of people write to fix characters like Casey, April, Karai and whatnot, but what about the side characters?? What about the villains??
For example, I never see Timothy mentioned outside of very specific situations, and that guy deserved so much better :(
I actually have a half unfinished draft of a Leo x Male!Reader fanfic, where the reader is Timothy's brother and has been trying to find him after his sudden disappearance, sibling is tricked into believing the turtles were the ones who mutated him and joins the foot clan, there's a lot of angst and developing Timothy's character beyond this cringe teenage kid who got involved into something he shouldn't and also exploring how a kid even gets to that point
Would anybody read something like that, btw? I love the idea, but I'm currently obsessed with Statistical Improbability and The Secrets we Inherit + a third fanfic I haven't posted yet but have like 20k words written, so if I am to write it anytime soon, it would only be if there's some interest in it
Also please recommend me fanfics that focus around the more minor characters of 2012 if you know any, thx!!
with what you just said omfg. please. đđđ
HEAD CANONS FOR THE 12 BOYS DOING THE SPIDERMAN KISS WITH THEIR GIRL?! HEHEHEHE
2012!Turtles x reader
A/N: Iâve been binging too much TwoSet, so this took me four days to make. Why? Because violins, baby!đ And YES, I just saw the title of their latest video, and NO I donât have guts to watch itđ
Warning: Noneđ
The peaceful quietness of your bedroom was disturbed, when you heard light tapping against your window, making you look up from whatever you were doing. A soft smile spread across your face, already knowing who you would find outside your window.
With a happy skip in your step, you made your way to your window, opening it and letting the cold night air of New York City enter your room. And there you found him, hanging upside down from the fire escape over yours, smiling at you with that sweet boyish smile and pretty blue eyes.
âLeoâ, you smiled, feeling giddy at the sight of your turtle boyfriend hanging outside your window. âWhat are you doing here?â, you asked, climbing out on the fire escape. âYou havenât told me you would come byâ.
âI just thought Iâll come by to say hey before patrolâ, he smiled, watching as you came closer to him. Even upside down, you made his heart skip a beat. âCanât a guy just check in on his girlfriend?â
âOf course you canâ, you smiled, standing right before him.
The two of you smiled at each other for a moment, before your hand came to rest on his cheek, your thumb stroking his jaw.
âWill you come over after patrol?â, you asked. âMy parents wonât be home before tomorrowâ.
âWhen you ask so nicelyâ, Leo chuckled. âOf course I will. Anything for my girlâ.
You bite your lip, feeling butterflies fly through your stomach. Something that tended to happen when Leo decided to play up his charm. And so, you softly pressed your lips to his in a soft sweet kiss. When you pulled from the kiss, you found Leo smiling from ear to ear, looking at you with pure love in his eyes.
âI love you, Leoâ, you smiled, pressing a kiss to his forehead. âSee you after patrolâ.
âI love you too, (Y/N)â, Leo hummed, savoring the feeling of your lips against his forehead. âSee you laterâ.
You were talking down the street, returning home after a long night out. Even without your headphones, you probably wouldnât have noticed the familiar figure coming down from above, hanging upside down in the streetlamp you were about to pass. So when you suddenly felt a tap on your shoulder, you turned with your fists up, ready to fight like your boyfriend had taught you. But when you then found your boyfriend, hanging upside down before you with a smirk plastered across his face, you let out a sigh of relief.
âGod damn Raph, donât do thatâ, you sighed. âYou almost scared the shit out of meâ.
âI was going for your pants, but I guess that was one way to do itâ, Raph chuckled, his eyes lingering on your for a moment. âOn your way home?â
âOne were to think that you were the genius turtle with those detective skillsâ, you laughed, making Raph pull a playful grimes.
âHa ha, very funnyâ, he said, reaching one hand out for you, perking his lips. âNow, come here. Gimme a kissâ.
âWhat if I donât want toâ, you asked, not putting any effort into hiding your smile, as you took a step backwards, getting just out of his reach. Raph gasped in an overly dramatic manner, making you giggle at his antics.
âItâs not nice to lie, (Y/N)â, Raph said, faking an angry expression. âNow, give me a kiss before I get madâ, he continued, pecking his lips once more.
You couldnât help but giggle, giving in with a bright smile. Holding Raphâs head in your hands, you pressed your lips to his in a small peck that made him hum playfully when you pulled back.
âYou look pleasedâ, you smiled, still holding his head in your hands.
âI amâ, Raph smiled. âBut I would be more pleased if you gave me another kissâ.
You let out a happy laugh, throwing your head back. Your, oh so charming teaseful boyfriend, always managed to sneak in comments like that.
âOkay, you whining babyâ, you smiled, before pressing your lips to his again, feeling him pull you closer with his free hand. This kiss was longer and deeper than the first, yet still short and sweet, making both you and Raph feel tingles in your stomachs.
Raph pulled from the kiss with a very satisfied look on his face, giving you that smug smile once again. âSee, that wasnât so badâ.
âDorkâ, you smiled, nudging him slightly on his shoulder.
âAll me dork all you want, babe. But even I know you like itâ, Raph smirked, before getting ready to climb back up the lamp pole. âAnd when I get back from patrol, youâll get moreâ.
âDonnie?â, you called out, looking around Donnieâs garage lab. But with him being nowhere to see, you did a turn on the spot, taking in your surroundings once more. Where could he be? You had texted him several times, but he still hasn't answered you. And that was an hour ago! âBabe?â
âUp here!â
You looked up to the rafters of the garage, finding your turtle boyfriend on the beams above, fiddling with wirings and all sorts of strange things, that you still had no idea what their names were.
âWhat are you doing up there?â, you asked, crossing your arms as you smiled up at your boyfriend.
âWhat does it look like Iâm doing?â, Donnie smiled. âIâm fixing the lights. And the electric wires⌠and the heat⌠pretty much everythingâ.
âOkay, but why?â
âWellâŚâ, Donnie sighed, sitting back up on the beam, looking up as he thought. âFirst Leo came and asked me to fix the lights, because it wasnât strong enough to let him read. Then Mikey came and told me he had problems with his outlets. And then Raph started yelling up about the heating in his room. And since the wires and all access points are up here, I just decided to get them all doneâ.
âI guess that makes senseâ, you said, taking a seat in Donnieâs chair, watching as he continued to work. âDo you need any help up there?â
âNo, no, I got itâ, Donnie said, not taking his eyes from what he was working with.
âOkaaayyyâŚ.â, you said, not feeling fully sure about his answer. âBut please be careful, babeâ.
âIâm always careful, (Y/N)â, Donnie said with a smile and his eyes closed, making you uneasy straight away. âI know what Iâm doing, so thereâs no need to worRY!-â
And just like you had feared it would happen, Donnie fell off the beam and tumbled towards the ground beneath. But before you could even let out a sound, and before Donnie could reach the ground, he found himself tangled up the wires he had just been fiddling with, leaving him hanging upside down just before you, with a sheepish smile. "Whoops".
You stood from the chair, crossing your arms with a smug smile, as you walked towards your tangled up boyfriend. âSeems like you doâ.
âThis wasnât part of the planâ, Donnie said, looking up as his lower half tangled up.
âIt wasnât?â, you asked in a teasing manner. âWell, at least I know where I can find you nowâ. And then, before Donnie could ask what you meant, you took his face in your hands, before pressing a kiss to his lips, making him hum in pleasant surprise. âNow, letâs get you out of all thatâ.
With a sigh you laid back on the bed, turning your head to watch your boyfriend on the floor, as he tinkered around with his latest action figures. That was what happened when he got his hands on a new collectible. That was just how it was. You knew better than to get in the way of Mikeyâs hobbies, but damn, sometimes you would get bored just watching him, when you had hoped that day would have been all about a couple time.
âMikeyâ, you said with another sigh, trying to catch the attention of your turtle boyfriend.
âYes, babe?â, Mikey asked, still not taking his eyes off the figure in his hand as he moved its arms around.
âWhen will you come and cuddle?â
âJust a moment babe, I just got to look through the rest firstâ.
You let out another loud exacerbated sigh, spreading your arms out on Mikeyâs bed like seastar. Mikey still had several boxes on all new figures to go through, and you were getting impatient. ADHD canât spread to other people by touch, but by this point you fully believed that you had gotten it from Mikey. Ever since you had gotten together with the orange clad turtle, you had started taking on many of his mannerisms. Such as his tendency to sigh in annoyance when getting impatient. And funnily enough, Mikey never seemed to notice when you did so. Just like right now. No reaction. Not what you wanted. So you had to do something about it. And you knew just how.
You scooted yourself around the bed, until you laid with your head resting down the side of the bed, allowing you to look at Mikey with your head upside down. You pucked your lips, making loud and obscene kissing noises. But⌠still nothing.
Right! Thatâs it! And with that you grabbed a hold of Mikeyâs head, pulling him towards you as he made a surprised sound. You pressed his lips to yours, kissing him while you were still laying upside down on his bed.
âWhat was that for?â, Mikey asked with a smile.
âBecause Iâm getting impatient!â, you whined, trying to hide your smile. âAnd youâre just sitting there looking like a snack! What do you expect me to do?â
âYou know what?â, Mikey said, laying his figure down on the floor before coming to a stand, smiling at you. âYouâre right. Cuddle time!â
You did not have time to move before Mikey decided to jump on to the bed, throwing himself on you, letting you scream out in laughter, when he started attacking your face with kisses. You regretted NOTHING.
Started: February 26th, 2025
Last Updated: May 1st, 2025
Requests: Open
Important Reminders
I'm an adult, there might will be 18+ stuff here
There will be darker themes explored in these fanfics, not just possibly smut, but whumps, torture, Major Character deaths, etc, stuff is always tagged so read at your own risk
Characters are aged up to 18+ unless specified
As of now I only write for the 2012 version of the turtles
I take requests, but I don't promise to finish all of them, eventually I will make a rules post but as of now just don't ask for anything non-consensual between a reader and the turtles, T-Cest or Poly, everything else is good to go
I mainly write for the guys but I am not against writing for other characters either like the Shredder's henchmen, Bishop, Karai, Irma, Casey and April!
All
Coming soon...
Leonardo
Coming Soon...
Raphael
Coming Soon...
Donatello
MultiChapter Fics
Statistical Improbability - Donbot x Reader
Part 1 | Part 2
The Secrets we inherit - Donatello x Stockman's Niece!Reader
Part 1 | Part 2
Michelangelo
Coming Soon...
Call me Mr. Isopod ⤠I'm just a cave hermit whose life has been consumed by Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. ⥠I write, sometimes â He/Him MDNI â§ 21 ă Requests: Open ă
35 posts