To My Readers:

I’m not usually on the Apriltello bandwagon but this was just too precious not to reblog

Married GtAD (G/t Apritello) comics :) The second one was based off of some media I saw of I think a frog sitting at a tiny kissing booth (it's been a while so I can't remember the context exactly).

Temi the Speed Boat

@mrabubu I’m so sorry but I couldn’t help it 🤣

Original Comic found here! 🎵Song: Free Bird TOTEM Remix 🎵

by Lynyrd Skynyrd

🫢🤯🥹

This…this literally blew me away like…I have no words to express how beautiful this is…

I Want Something Just Like This

Collaboration with the lovely @tapakah0 thanks for working with me ｡(TヮT)ﾟ｡

@somerandomdudelmao hope you feel better soon Cass ( -_-)＼(0-0 )

Song: Something Just Like This by Coldplay and The Chainsmokers

Y’all….I’m legit sobbing right now. I’m just casually reading this on my deck outside and this post hit me so hard that I dropped my phone and started crying.

THIS is the entire message of TMNT in a nutshell. This is why I FRIGGIN adore this show, this fandom. They’re brothers your honor. Brothers.

We all have our unique gifts, but at the end of the day we’re not alone. We have all have family, whether blood or by choice. We’re NEVER alone.

Anatawa Hitorijanai

Thank you @somerandomdudelmao for showing this and doing so in a way that is heartbreakingly beautiful. I’ve never been so shook by someone’s art and story in a way that this has shattered me (in the best possible way)

Part 12!

Okay. A little insight. I originally wanted to do two separate episodes for Leo and Mikey.

And at the end of his episode, Leo would die alone in the middle of the wasteland. Dramatic, angsty, all that yeah

But then I thought about it many, many more times. Leo was essentially never alone. I used to think of him as such a... kind of... somewhat abandoned and lonely character?, because I've read so many fanfics about him traveling back in time.

But canon Leo was never completely alone. Mikey was there, Mikey was with him until the very end. Mikey and him went all the way to the inevitable defeat together.

This wasn't just Leo who lost everything. It was them. Both of them. Together.

This comic really does things to my brain.

Part 1

Colored clothes ref

Coolest fucking animation

LADIES AND GENTS : THEY MAY HATE THE PAST AND THEY MAY HATE THEMSELVES BUT THEY HATE BULLIES EVEN MORE!!! PLEASE GIVE A WARM AND DRAMATIC WELCOME TO PAAM!

like y’all you have no idea how much them all getting together to defend Casey just gives me life. Once a dad, always a sad 😆🙌🏼💙

I’m having too much fun with this concept lmao

*bears poses with a snicker* Good luck suckas because I’ve only written one.

Perceive me I dare you

A persons fanfic tells you a lot about them, i , a fanfic writer, realize in terror

*vibrates at a frequency that could shatter* I love this with every fiber of my entire being 🧡💙

The dynamic in Rise between the rest of the team and Leo is. so fucking funny. Because like you've got these three extremely talented individuals who all seem like perfectly reasonable people at first glance, right, but then if you squint hard enough you realize they're actually all batshit insane (affectionate) and the clown boy standing behind them is secretly their common sense.

Clown boy will occasionally put himself and the others in danger to Prove Himself or Prove Someone Wrong (see Minotaur Maze and the movie) but like otherwise... i think people forget Leo's overwhelmingly the voice of reason in most situations?

Raph, Mikey, and Donnie are all incredibly powerful boys with very specific skill sets. They are also, as a direct result of this, the WORST decision-makers on god's green earth lmao. When presented with a problem, Raph will smash, Donnie will blow shit up, and Mikey will razzmatazz. They will all run straight toward death with the same oblivious enthusiasm of a dog about to run straight into a screen door. None of them realize this and all of them think they are Extremely Good At Problem-Solving.

And the only guy cursed with the common sense to realize this is literally the LAST person anyone would expect.

When you look closely, the entirety of Rise is actually a chronicle of Leo trying to find new and creative ways to keep this team of superpowered fools alive while simultaneously white-knuckling his Cool Fun Guy persona so the others don't realize he's secretly the Boring Responsible One. Haha, you know what would be Cool and Fun, guys? Not going after the Spine Breaking Bandit lol. Getting home before the sun goes up lol. Evacuating that civilian lol. Not telling the guy dangling me off a roof "you won't, no balls" lol.

The sacred struggle of every iteration of Leonardo is thanklessly wrangling the most trigger-happy siblings in the world, and Rise Leo has not escaped it. He just does an occasional shenanigan to avoid detection and his brothers fall for it every time.

I’m uh…not really good at social interaction…especially when it comes to really cool artists like yourself, but…

@mrabubu please take my humble meme as appreciation for letting me adopt you 😆🙌🏼🧡

*waddles into your inbox with a big smile and excitedly holding a handful of papers*

Guess what? I’m having a baby!

You: *happy monkey noises* Aww that’s so awesome! I’m so ha-

Me: *slams down adoption papers* ITS YOU, sign here

BTW I think you’re legitimately adorable and I throughly enjoy your little doodles and would very much like to be your friend 🧡👉🏼👈🏼

A good reminder anyday 🧡🙏🏼✨

My 12 reaction photos to this comic because I swear I love this a normal amount

The eye of the hurricane. I like to think Cassandra sometimes called the brothers by the nicknames their dad used, given they were probably pretty close before his passing.

BEGINNING || PREVIOUS || NEXT (SOON) MASTER POST

Man oh man, this one was way messier and off model than my last few updates but whatever, we got to keep this ball rolling! Life's been crazy so I've had to take some unwanted breaks in between updates. Thanks everyone for your patience as always!

One thing I wanted in this flashback was to really get a sense of how the brothers worked as an experienced team with Leo at the helm as a proper leader. It's something we never got to see much of in Rise and I felt it was important to include since half the team is already gone by the time of Replica. Team Dynamics Ted Talk under the cut!

We know from Casey Jr that Leo stressed the importance of listening to your team. A big part of that also means knowing how to communicate with them in general.

With Michelangelo, he keeps it short and succinct, trusting his brother to know what he's doing when in his element. This trust goes a long way with Mikey, having spent years of his youth as the baby striving for the respect he felt he deserved. Leo knows it's best to not bog Mikey down with details, allowing him to improvise as needed. This unspoken freedom has only grown over time as Mikey has dipped deeper into spiritual arts that, frankly, go completely over Leo's head.

The greatest sacrifice Leo has ever made was read Donnie's Big Book of Bad Guy Codes. While he doesn't remember ALL the numbers, he has memorized the ones that matter and it has helped tremendously in avoiding miscommunication with his genius brother. More importantly it silenced any of Donnie's usual belly-aching. As Leo's "twin"/"equal" the two still butt heads from time to time. Donnie respects his brother's authority (mostly) but will still push the boundaries of what he's allowed on a semi-regular basis. Give Donnie an inch and he will take the mile and then find a loop hole that allows him to go twenty miles more. This is partially due to him often being the one left behind at HQ, making the turtle just a TAD stir crazy. Leo does his best to keep him in line regardless.

Big brother Raph will forever and always be big brother to Leo. As such he holds a place of authority in Leo's heart and is someone he still regularly seeks counsel from in both the ways of leadership and more. Raph is always happy to support his younger brother and does a surprisingly good job (albeit after years of practice) of walking the line so as not to step on his brother's toes in the process. At least not since the secret of "the Key" blew up in their faces several years ago. They don't talk about that anymore. Leo is the leader now and he's done a great job in recent years as far as Raph is concerned. He trusts him to make the right call. The two have a close bond and regularly use mind meld to quickly communicate rather than speak ...this will be important to remember for the future.

Hope that overall feeling came through for this group!