Turtles Of A Different Kind

Turtles of a Different Kind

For TMNT Write Fight! Yaaaaaaayyy!

@tmnt-write-fight @crack-fic-casey

For Kai, and their Prompt #4 which was: (Any iteration) Give swap one or more of the Turtles jobs! For instance, make Mikey an inventor, but in a totally radical, laid back way. Leo could be the one that takes care of everyone's feelings, Raph could be an action-driven leader, and Donnie can be a logical, aggressive bruiser.

Word Count: 1,290

I had a lot of fun writing this! This prompt had me going back and forth and thinking and re-thinking things but... I'm really happy with what I landed on.

As a disclaimer beforehand, I didn't necessarily pick a specific iteration... Because that was really hard for me to do. But I went with the basics of most/all TMNT kind. Namely:

Leo: Stoic and Brave Leader

Raph: Passionate and Aggressive Tank

Donnie: Logical and Nerdy Inventor

Mikey: Radical and Chill Artist

So those are the bounds upon which I mixed things up and twisted this little tale... Anyways, pretty short, but please enjoy!

STORY START

<><><>

We… are teenage, mutant turtles. And sometimes we dabble in Ninjitsu but…

“YO DEE! WATCH OUT!”

Not much.

I’m already wincing at the pitched screeching of the rocket, unprepared to dive to the side before a solid mass topples me to the ground. Sparks and metal zip over our heads. Accompanied by the victorious whoops and hollers of my other brothers, I watch with wide eyes as the device turns on a dime and lifts into the air. With one last heaving breath, the rocket sputters, stalls, then explodes in an array of shrapnel and dust.

“Holy shell! That was awesome! Did you see that guys, did you see that!?” Raph boisterously exclaims.

Raphael. The inventor of our little group. The one with bright ideas and even brighter explosions following him in his wake. His energy is a bit much to keep up with sometimes.

“Oh sh- uh… you guys okay?” Raph asks as he pounces over the balcony and lands by my side. Moving my limp arms about to assess any damage.

“Oi! Dad said no more explosions in the lair!” Leo says from where he’s tumbled onto the ground next to me.

Leonardo. The bruiser of the group- the tank. Large and imposing and always prepared to step in and take a hit, should his brothers need it.

“It wasn’t supposed to explode!” Raph laments.

“Hey, hey! Chill dudes, it’s alright.” Our heads turn collectively to observe Mikey as he slides down the rail of the stairs. “Ain’t nobody hurt, so we’re chill!”

Michelangelo. Our self-proclaimed ‘team leader’. Always on the look-out for adventures and ‘family bonding experiences’. I personally think he just likes to torment us.

“That isn’t the point.” Leo’s eyes grow sharp and narrow. “Donatello could have been seriously hurt! Plus, Master Splinter should be home any minute now. What are we supposed to say about this mess?”

“No worries- we’ll have it spic-and-span, lickety split. Ain’t that right team?” Mikey throws a look over his shoulder, confident and calm as ever.

When our eyes meet, I know that I- an innocent bystander in all this- have already been roped into another one of his schemes. “Yeah, sure…”

The last in our quartet is… me. Just me. I don’t know that I have much of a title like the others do… Raph calls me a visionary, Mikey says I’m the glue of the group. And Leo… Leo just calls me ‘cool’. So I guess that’s my place in all this.

A heavy, familiar sigh. Leo’s fire of indignation is snuffed out with a slow, practiced breath. “Alright then… Let’s just be quick about it.”

So we dive into the task of cleaning up the lair. Although I find my mind on other things as we work. Namely, that time months ago when I asked Leo that seemingly innocuous question.

“Why aren’t you the leader?”

“What?”

“I said-”

“N-No, sorry. I heard what you said I just…” Leo’s voice trailed off as he smoothed off the scales on his head. “... What do you mean by that? Do you think I should be a leader?”

I could sense that his question came simply from a place of wanting to understand, instead of hesitation. So I gave it some thought. “Yeah. I think you should be.” I eventually said. “I think you’re more focused than Mikey. Plus, you actually know how to fight, instead of just twirling around in the air.”

“It’s called ‘dodging’, Donnie. It’s an important part of fighting too. Mikey’s good at what he does.”

“And you’re good at what you do.” I counter. “I see the way you always think before jumping into a situation. Cutting out all the debris before making a final decision, and finishing opponents with ease. It’s impressive. And I think we should all learn to be more like you- I think it would make us a better team. An actual team.”

Leo was silent for a moment. Analyzing the situation as he always does before preparing for a fight. It was always a little bit intimidating to be under the scrutiny of such a focused gaze.

“Alright DonTron,” He eventually pipes up with a smirk, “let’s play a little game of hypotheticals.”

I was a bit taken off-guard by his seemingly mischievous demeanor but… “Alright, I’ll bite.”

“So, let’s say that I talked to dad and then tomorrow we all woke up and I was the leader.” Leo’s eyes were trained on me the entire time he spoke. “I come out of my room and I say ‘Alright bros! I’m in charge now, and we’re gonna do some training today!’ How would you feel about that?”

Another moment of thought. “Well, honestly I’d be kind of excited. Because of what I said before- I think we could learn a lot from you. I think it would be a good exercise.”

“So you’d be okay with it.” Leo confirms, his smile growing a little more mischievous. Then the dour tone comes in once again. “What about Mikey? How do you think he would feel about it…?”

His question brings me pause, even though I’m immediately sure I know how Mikey would feel about it. “I think he would feel… stepped on. Overlooked. I think he’d be sad…”

Leo nods along in agreement. “Then let’s say I bring this up with Raph. I say ‘Hey, Raph-a-Roonie! You can only make useful stuff from now on! Things that will make us a better team. Weapons and tools and shields.’ How do you think Raph will feel about that?”

“Well, Raph doesn’t really like being told what projects to work on.” I reason out loud. “So I think he would be pretty angry and unmotivated. But-”

“And what about you?” Leo charged on. “Let’s say I go to you the next day, and say ‘Hey, Dee. Let’s meet in the dojo. We’re going to train with your Bo staff until you get it right- until you’re a great warrior like me.’ And then we don’t stop training, day in and day out, until you become that great warrior. How would that make you feel?”

I’m practically glowering up at him at this point. I understand the point of the exercise, but he’s taking the hyperbole too far. “It would make me tired, and upset. But you’re not being fair! This hypothetical you’ve set up is too extreme! You wouldn’t do things like that- you’d be much more kind about it.”

Leo only sits back and stares at me with that same calculating gaze. Rolling over the words in his head, no doubt. As I do the same. 

“Maybe, maybe not,” he finally concedes. “But the point still stands- we’ve got a status quo going for ourselves. Changing up the rhythm will only upset others.”

“But change can be good at times.” 

“At times… But this just isn’t one of those times. Trust me, little brother.” Leo’s head rolled to the side, taking me in with sharpened pupils. An almost haunted gaze. “This routine we’ve got here… It’s for the best. We should keep it this way.”

And that was the end of the conversation. One that left a sour taste in my mouth. But… I tried not to focus on it too much. It’s only in quiet, escapable moments like these that I’m able to remember the look on Leo’s face as he spoke…

BANG BOOM SMASH

“RAPH!!”

Okay, ‘quiet’ isn’t exactly the right word but… you get the point.

It’s better to just be in the moment. To focus on us. Brothers. Raph the passionate Mcguyvre. Leo the stoic soldier. Mikey the radical leader. And me, the logical heart. 

Just as it always is, just as it always should be… 

… Right?

<><><>

STORY END

Hi hello. Would you like an explanation? Sure, I would too! Lol, too bad though. This is mostly just train of thought, although it has inspired a bit of an AU idea in my head that I'm interested in exploring later!

Like, in this universe, I think Casey would be a journalist who is friend's with the turtles. Then April would be the vigilante power-house they meet later day the road. Just thoughts.

Thank you for the read! Hope you enjoyed <3

Some sketch studies with the TNT Twins! Can you tell I’m obsessed? No? That’s alright, you’ll learn.

This is really fun pose practice, and like uh… consistency for the design. If that makes sense. Idk

And lots of Donnie interactions because Donnie is baby and my favorite so he will just be anywhere and everywhere and ya'll just have to deal with it.

Some additional information under the cut if you’re interested! Lots of it is just random train of thought about the characters, so bear with me, haha.

More on Raphael:

Raphael’s mode of invention is typically in mechanics. He really enjoys woodworking and metalworking. Definitely lives the "duct-tape can fix anything" lifestyle. Has a ‘workshop’ instead of a lab. Builds and crafts a lot of destructive things, but he also enjoys making gifts for his brothers. Only when he sees the need for it- and never when asked to. Knows some tech/coding for the bare basics of it, as it relates to mechanical engineering. But doesn’t enjoy the computer stuff as much as he likes the hands-on work part. Also has knowledge of some 3D modeling programs, which he and Donnie bond over 3D forms.

Raph is still very energetic, passionate, and easily angered. Definitely the most sporty out of the four of them. He also loves motorcycles (of course), and is working on his own custom bike. Other projects he is working on include: shield for Donnie’s back, ‘artillery camera’ (he refuses to expand on the meaning of this), lair defense mechanisms/traps, and a custom gaming controller for Leo. All in various stages. It’s hard for him to focus on only one thing at a time. And he enjoys tearing things apart almost more than putting them together, which often causes problems. 

Keeps his Sai on hand and finds them useful for tearing things apart when ‘on the job’. Although he has been reprimanded for doing so. Might also be working on a Swiss-army knife of sorts but with Kunai and Sai. Still a work in progress. If given the opportunity, he will drop the Sai and simply go ham with his fists.

Aside from his personality, I also just want to point out that the edge of his shell is meant to represent a cog-wheel. Because of the type of materials he works with. And I think it's clever. Raph's design is probably my favorite out of the four, which is saying a lot. Because I love all of them. But I'm just really super happy with how Raph's design came out, and like... how well it fits this character. It just turned out better than I could have imagined it. One of those magical moments, you know?

More on Michelangelo:

Mikey is a huge fan of skateboarding, but that’s as sporty as he gets really. Also a huge animal fan. He’s always finding stray creatures to bring home and nurse back to health. He is also a huge prankster, in the best and worst ways. Likes to keep his family guessing. Acts all secretive on purpose just to confuse and or piss people off (Most specifically, Leo). Psychological warfare is the name of the game for Mikey.

He likes throwing tags around the city, but he only really has his own signature perfected. He wouldn’t call himself an artist. He just learns the basics of things to get done what he wants to do. If he did delve into art, he would probably stick with paints and spray. Loves food and eating, although his brothers would say he has terrible taste. (Think shaggy vibes.)

This kid would literally do anything for his brothers. He pretends not to notice, but he can pick up on vibes pretty well. Knows when others are lying, sad, happy, etc. Which is part of what makes him a great leader. He uses those skills to his advantage to persuade people- a true face man. Nothing really gets under his skin but he is insecure about ONE thing: the markings on the back of his head. Which look like eyes or huge warts. Always wears his mask to cover them. Or a beanie if his mask isn’t available. Often finds funny/silly ways to cover his head if in a scenario without his hats. He’s pretty desperate to keep it hidden.

Mikey still uses the Nunchaku as his favored weapon. He is fast on his feet, but very loosey-goosey with everything. It makes his moves extremely hard to predict, which he likes. And, despite his casual demeanor, he has spent a lot of focus and dedication to the craft. So he’s really proud of his skill. Plus, it’s fun to confuse and startle people when he pulls them out and pretends like he doesn’t know what he’s doing.

On Mikey's design, I am in love with the colors. Covering up the spots on his head was very intentional, but it really is kind of a shame. Because I love how the green spots pop. But I used that same green for Donnie's design to keep things cohesive. I really love the pattern for male Baele Four-Eyed turtles. A sick lil' guy, really.

More on the TNT Twins:

I want to make a separate post for their dynamic specifically, since I don't have my ideas drawn out just yet. But my immediately thoughts where "Dan and Arin from GameGrumps". So you can expect that the next post about these two will reference that. Obviously Mikey embodies Dan and Raph embodies Arin. It's going to be fantastic.

Eeeyyyyyyyyoooo

A lil mini comic about “Turles of a Different Kind” Leo getting his first job in the Yokai world. And drawing my version of this au’s Todd.

And then Leo keeps the same job for like 3 years. He likes it.

And Todd looks out for Leo the best he can. He doesn’t ask many questions about Leo’s family (mostly because Leo won’t answer them, and seems uncomfortable when it is brought up), but he does watch Leo’s patterns pretty well.

For example, Leo will often do shopping at the grocery store after work. The usual things, like food and hygiene products etc, but sometimes he grabs some odd treats, which Todd assumes is for Leo and his family. So Todd always makes sure those treats are well stocked. Sometimes over-stocking on them on purpose to offer to Leo for free or at a discounted price.

Anyways, I think it’s cute aaaahhhhhhh TTwTT

Welcome to my au TMNTVSF:BFB

Otherwise known as “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Versus Sonic Forces: Battle For Ben.”

Where Leo and Sonic have to fight each other and the victor gets to keep Ben Schwartz voice.

Yo look a page 2

Wowee

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Practicing with poses. And panels. And like- the voice bubbles. It’s for practice, but there is story/lore stuff too.

So, stay tuned I guess. I’m just having fun here lol

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Part 1 of ???