They/Them | 20yo Artist | Talk Tag — Art Tag | Banner/Icon by @iscdisc
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Latest Posts by teks-emporium - Page 4
Honestly I've seen a lot of "12 Donnie is afraid of rise Donnie" but for once I just really wanna see "rise Donnie is afraid of 12 Donnie and doesn't know how to deal with it"
"Hate. Me...APRIL HATES ME!!!🗣️"
Variants of the demonic April.
Donnie's fear was SO bad, I can't.
Like, it could have been done differently (for example, his fears correspond to the events of Timothy and Kirby's mutation and he would be afraid to hurt April again). Okay, he has a low self-esteem due to their appearance, I get it, but WHY DO THEY SHOW ME THAT HE'S AFRAID THAT SHE'LL FALL IN LOVE WITH CASEY??? Dude, you've had other situations, but are you worried about rejection???
theyre best friends. to me.
My Halloween post from last year ! ⚰️🎃✨
(I'm not waiting until October to post this- LMAO / Also, I'm sorry it's kind of obvious I had to cut corners in certain places, I was cutting it really close to Halloween last year so I just wanted to finish the video- 😭👍 || Old content-)
I headcanons that Donatello, despite being the smallest of his brothers, was the child prodigy when it comes to Ninjitsu during his formative years— although he may not particularly enjoy it, he's just so happen to excel at it.
This is because he can imitate the best; copying a form shown by Splinter to a 'T'. It doesn't take long for him to study and follow a pattern when presented to him, causing him to be able to master certain techniques flawlessly and without much problem. Leo might be having trouble perfecting it, or Raph might have some issues with his temper, or Mikey when it comes to actually paying attention, but these sorts of things came to Donnie rather naturally.
However, as years passed, and Donnie is slowly growing ragged caring for his family, so does his skills.
His intellect was quickly put to use in all forms of way; having to salvage every piece of technology that comes his way and make them into some useful appliances. He's the only one that eats with the knowledge of how long their food rations will last, the only one who sleeps thinking if their heaters would stay functioning throughout winter, working high and low to keep them alive to see the next sunrise.
Evidently, this affects other aspects of his life as well.
He couldn't keep up with his brothers' unrelenting pace during the day due to how much he's working throughout the night. He's so exhausted that he could barely keep his head up during training/practice, so much that he's falling behind.
ANON,,,,, ANON WHEN I GET YOU ANON—
Like. He's had to work hard to keep his family alive from such a young age
He barely needed to try in training but the older he got and the more he worked he could barely keep up. If that isn't gifted kid burnout I don't know what is
Another sneak peak to keep ya on your toes,,,
I finally hit 3,000 words!!! This thing's gonna be LONG
Sometimes when I get sad I imagine a small Donnie (2k12 ver) running around trying his best to give a living for his family on top of caring for his emotionally unstable father and then I get sadder
Oh anon you are HURTING ME,,,,
Putting all my AU Donnies in a room and seeing which one comes out alive
type prevs url with your eyes closed in the tags
I actually kinda wanna talk about a common trope I've seen a lot in tmnt 2012 + rise crossovers involving interactions between the two Donnies, specifically about 12 Donnie's romantic feelings and stalkerish tendencies towards his April, because I do think there's actually room for analysis in there about how rise Donnie would feel about it. I personally don't think it would be the "lol ew you're weird" that I typically see in these kinds of crossovers (I know it's supposed to be a joke most of the time but still).
🔽Here we go🔽
(Tumblr only allows one video per post, so all the necessary clips used to make my point will be compiled into this video that I will be referencing back to)
To begin, let's start with the fact that rise Donnie is no stranger to keeping tabs on his bothers without them knowing.
He admits that he "records everything" in The Clothes Don't Make the Turtle, and that he at some point before the events of the movie put subcutaneous tracking devices in his brothers (and possibly even Casey too despite not knowing him for that long), and in both of those scenes, none of them seem to have known about it up until those points.
So he's perfectly fine with spying on people, but unlike 12 Donnie, he seems to keep tabs on his family and friends through more indirect means like trackers and recording them instead of just straight up stalking them. You could argue that using more isolated methods instead could be a way for him to justify it, since tracking devices and recordings that you don't particularly have to be present for are a few steps removed from physically following someone around, but given how Donnie seems perfectly willing to resort to violence and murder in many instances I genuinely don't think it's an issue of morality for him. I think he just believes spying with his tech is simply more effective and time saving
So he's fine with spying on his brothers, but we don't exactly know if he'd do the exact same thing in romantic relationships. I do think it's likely, since him placing trackers on them is most likely a way for him to ensure their safety without being upfront about it, so if he cares about someone romantically he'd probably do the same thing too.
Rise as a series doesn't have too much romance in general but there are at least two hints in the show about Donnie and how he feels about romance, particularly in War and Pizza and Mascot Melee.
He calls Cherry Tomato "cute and mean" and asks himself why he always goes for her type, and calls Atomic Lass his childhood idle before asking her if she was single after their dance fight. He's clearly capable of having romantic feelings for certain people, but these examples aren't real people in-universe, so it's entirely possible that he only experience romantic attraction to fictional characters. That's also another degree of separation since April in 2012 is a real person whereas Cheery and Atomic Lass are not.
So I think that's it for rise Donnie. On to 2012
One other thing I've seen that's pretty common with this trope is people making 12 Donnie act all...proud for how he acts around April? Where he admits to stalking her like it's some casual thing? Which...he absolutely would not do.
In Mutagen Man Unleashed, he looked embarrassed—almost ashamed even—to admit here that he was following her before hand, meaning he knows it's wrong and quite possibly wishes he hadn't done it in the first place. I would say it's probably likely he feels guilty because he got caught, but given the fact that he voluntarily admitted that he knew April was at the park with Casey, I personally doubt it.
Since it's very likely Donnie's feelings towards April potentially stem from his self-hatred of being a mutant, I honestly don't think he'd be that proud of the fact that he's stalked her in the past.
This crossover trope ESPECIALLY wouldn't work after season 3 episode 2.
A Foot Too Big's entire overarching plot revolves around Donnie's feelings towards April, and him being confronted with the truth of how he's been acting around her.
(Now in my opinion this episode didn't even do a good job of that anyway considering that Donnie never followed her around LITERALLY all the time or grabbed her or kissed her without consent, which—by the way—is considered sexual assault, but this isn't the point I'm trying to make here. Maybe for a future analysis)
Point is, at that point Donnie has already learned his lesson, so it would make justifying the whole "12 Donnie would lovingly talk about stalking April as if it's normal" even harder to justify.
Tl;dr: I honestly doubt rise Donnie would care about 12 Donnie's behavior towards April, especially considering the fact that 12 Donnie is not proud of it and has learned from it. In all honesty I can see the most likely outcome of them meeting being 12 Donnie nervously admitting that he used to follow her around only for rise Donnie to tell him that if he's really worried that much he should just put a tracker on her, and that it'll save him half the effort.
Anyway that's all, take care :3
rule 1.
creating art with the sole purpose of trying to entertain an audience and listening to them only is genuinely one of the worst things you can do as an artist.
you should be more selfish.
I have another idea ☝️🤓
I'm so PISSED I wanted to make an analysis about Rise Donnie and 12 Donnie's dynamic and how Rise probably wouldn't even bat an eye regarding 12's stalkerish tendencies but I CAN'T bc STUPID UGLY Tumblr only allows ONE (1) video per post fuck EVERYTHING AGDXFKJ
I'm so PISSED I wanted to make an analysis about Rise Donnie and 12 Donnie's dynamic and how Rise probably wouldn't even bat an eye regarding 12's stalkerish tendencies but I CAN'T bc STUPID UGLY Tumblr only allows ONE (1) video per post fuck EVERYTHING AGDXFKJ
rise is always fun to rewatch for me because of its attention to design details. these screenshots are from the bug busters episode. look at his battle shell: we see in these shots that it's designed to be flexible and not constraining for his movement
if you ever held a mango cut like this, you'll get the idea of how donnie's battle shell works
I didn't draw anything for Valentine's this year, my bad,, So here's my Valentine's Day post from last year- 💜🖤💌✨
(Old content \ Hopefully this will be my last "old content" post for a minute-! Lmao)
I do think something we need to talk about from the Rise movie more often is how it wasn't just Inherent to Leo to sacrifice himself but something he learned from Raph at the beginning of the movie. Raph throwing himself in the way of the Krang like that makes him an honorary Leo Sacrifice Hall Of Famer
i really like in fiction when they're like oh no!!! the bad guys are about to win!!! and Character Who Keeps Trying To Sacrifice Themself For The Greater Good is like. gentlemen i have an idea
I just have to ask. What are your thoughts about Donnie in sweaters and hoodies? Because I have many opinions and headcanons about him. U_U
As an individual who lives in jackets and sweaters because my reptilian blood does not allow me to ever feel warmth, yes.
Yes. My thoughts are just: Yes.
Every time Donnie has the option to dress up, he uses sleeves:
Mazes and Mutants = long cloak
Vision Quest = sleeves over his shoulder
The Crypt of Dracula = brown cloak
Now it’s not conclusive evidence, but again, this is my headcanon. This is my silly assumptions based on what I know and what I want to be true (bias!) based off my own judgements.
A lot of my headcanons about this backlash onto the Dona AU, where I make them all completely canon. For the series, however…
It’s scientifically proven that less mass = less heat and considering that they are turtles, Fall weather would be absolutely freezing for this svelte boy. There is no way that the sewers aren’t cold at night.
My personal headcanon is that we don’t see him wearing them because the brothers don’t wear clothes on a night-to-night basis. Nobody would blink if I slipped on a hoodie or put on a sweater in the middle of the day, but his brothers would notice because that’s not common. Putting on a jacket would mean admitting a sort of weakness and risking brotherly teasing.
Donnie already knows that his frame makes him physically weaker than his brothers. That’s why he makes up for it with his brain.
He can’t risk something else highlighting this. There’s no reason to give them something else to concentrate on, another thing to remind them of the difference between them.
He doesn’t put anything on unless one of his brothers do first.
(This stubbornness has backfired into illness far too often.)
Mmm, and that’s pretty much it! Thanks for Asking!
You ever just draw fanart for your own fic that you haven't even finished writing yet
IUTSIUSTYIRSHRISDFHJXFHJ HOLY CHALUPA THIS IS SO GOOD I'M 💘💖💞💖💞💘💘💞💖💞💖
AUFFUHFFH THANK YOU SO MUCH,,,,,
Another fanfic of an AU! @teks-emporium, I cannot remember the last time that I was allowed to go this nuts about AUs with someone, but I swear we’re on the same brain waves with literally everything and I love scheming about traumatized turtles with you!!
You have brought me joy and I want to return the favor! :D
Check out the Ghoul AU after ya’ll read this.
If you like horror AUs, it’s one for you!
The kitchen is ravaged.
Every pantry is open, devoid of the food within. All kinds of different snacks, some older and some newer, are sprawled across the island in a pile, spilling onto other bags, boxes, and over the floor.
Three bags of chips, the same flavor, two previously opened and one newly open, seem to have been flung into the sink. An oreo container with one cookie gone, a trail mix packet barely touched, and a full skittles packet are all snacks that others in the household will not appreciate finding touched, much less eaten.
The fridge hangs open loosely and the inside fairs no better, spoons in cottage cheese containers and meat packets torn open. The area smells faintly of vomit, collected in the trashcan next to the island.
He takes a soft breath, blue curtain swishing behind him, heading to the other end of the room. There the culprit sits, chin on his knees and hands over his head, breathing like he’s holding himself off from hyperventilating. He doesn’t react to the new presence.
“My son.”
His breath hitches, voice weak, “Sensei.”
Yoshi sets his cane against the island and kneels down. An apple with a single bite out of it rolls off the counter. It hits the floor.
Donatello flinches hard.
“In for two,” He coaxes. “Out for four. With me.”
Donatello lowers his hands, placing them around his legs, copying his rhythm. They breathe until Donatello releases a shaky laugh, bringing his hand to his face, shielding it as his shoulders hitch.
He exhales slowly, lowering one hand and wiping his eyes with the other. The lower part of his mask is a darker color.
“Sorry, Sensei.” Donatello shakes his head, fax smile twitching uncertainly. “I thought everyone was asleep.”
“Leonardo said you weren’t feeling well.” Yoshi motions for him to move forward. Donatello rises shakily, head bowed, getting onto his knees and letting him lay a hand on his forehead.
“I—I’m fine, Sensei.” He mutters, uselessly. They both know that he is never a reliable source when it comes to his own health.
Yoshi does not feel abnormal heat. “You are pale, Donatello. And you were throwing up.”
“I can’t eat.” Donatello glances over his shoulder, as if waiting for the food to react. “Anything. I tried it all Sensei.”
“Lose off appetite is common with illness.” Yoshi soothes curiously. “You would know that.”
“It’s not- I’m not- not hungry, Sensei.” He tries. “I just can’t eat it!
“When did you last sleep?” Yoshi wonders out loud, watching his face drop into something more familiar as he whines, “I sleep fine.”
“That was not my question.”
“I don’t think I am sick.” Donatello pushes, with a lot less force than he normally has when in denial. Yoshi’s grateful that he gets to be one step ahead of an illness, for once. “How do you feel.”
“I-“
“If you tell me you are fine, we will go to the dojo, where you will be able to prove how fine you are.”
Donatello’s beak reddens. Some color, good.
“Achey, I guess.” He rubs his arm. “Maybe a little shaky, but that doesn’t mean-”
“Vomiting.” Yoshi reminds. He frowns, “Only when I eat!”
“You cannot force your body to ingest what it doesn’t want.” Yoshi watches him deflate. He considers him. “When did you last eat?”
“I don’t know.” He mutters. “I haven’t really been hungry.”
“Since?”
“I don’t know.” He says, more bitterly. “That’s the problem. I should be hungry, shouldn’t I? Why can’t I eat? I tried everything.”
“Did you try tea?”
Yoshi expects him to roll his eyes or rush a change of subject before he’s encourages to try some. Instead, his expression lights up, “Do you think that’ll work? I mean, I haven’t experimented with liquids but if I don’t like what I normally like then maybe I’ll like what I-”
“Donatello,” He interrupts, gently. “I think you should rest.”
No hesitation. “I’m not tired, Sensei.”
“You are not hungry.” Yoshi reminds. “And yet you attempt to eat.”
“That’s different!” Donnie pleads, fists clenched in his lap. “This time it’s different, Sensei, I know it is!”
“How many times have I heard that?”
“Senseeei!”
“You need to sleep.”
“I need to figure this out!”
“We have.” Yoshi sets a hand on his arm. “You are ill.”
“I’m not! That doesn’t fit my theory at all!”
“What is your theory?”
“I’m not sick!”
Yoshi lowers his head, tilting it toward him knowingly. “I am no scientist, but that does not sound like much of a theory, my son.”
His shoulders slump as he heaves a sigh. Yoshi sets a hand on his shoulder, “I will take care of the mess. You will rest.”
“Y-you don’t have to do that, Sensei.” Guilty eyes dart to the island. “I can do it. You don’t need to worry about it.”
“I am a father.” He moves the hand to his face, cupping his chin to stop it from turning away, brown gaze meeting brown. “It is my job to worry. I would worry less, if I knew my sons were all healthy.”
“Hai Sensei.” His son whispers. “Sorry.”
“I am not upset.” He lets him go to reach to the side. When he stands, his son rises with him, wringing his hands. “Are you sure Sensei? It’s my mess.”
“I am certain.” To prove this point, he moves for the fridge, removing the bag of carrots that it holding the door open. He sets it on a clear spot on the counter, giving Donatello a soft look. “Sleep, my son.”
He nods, paleness regained, and then hesitantly goes from the room.
Yoshi returns the kitchen to its previous state before removing the vomit from his home. When he returns, he goes to turn in himself. If Donatello allows it, he’ll see if he can use his new positive view of tea to his advantage in the next evening.
For now, he trusts that some sleep will do him so good.
He was wrong on many accounts that day.
The first mistake was not checking a lab for a scientist.
Okay. I really want to know because I have no frame of reference for the average number of followers on here.
Please reblog and share so we can get a nice data pool!
if i don’t stop seeing that flesh cowboy hat tubi ad im gonna lose it
So I kinda forgot about this drawing I did before and I don't know how I'll finish or even continue this so uhm I'll just put it here then...
So for a lil bg to why I have a drawing like this is well yk the Heart of Evil episode in 2012? Where Donnie decided to take matters in his own hands? Well so thats the part where he idk choke hold someone? so yeah AHAHAHAHHA
I hate sounding like an attention seeker but want to mention that my asks are indeed open, and that if you have any questions about my AU go right on ahead and ask!
°3°
Art that's technically supposed to be AU related but there's not much that gives it away so it's like whatever lol
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.
