Mikey is going cross country đ§ĄđŠ
Target is stacked with TMNT merch. Got all of these from target today and now i have 3 Michelangelos in my collection :D
Fandoms: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem (2023), Tales of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2024)
4k words, Hurt Michelangelo, Mikey-whump, fainting
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Mikey was seriously so pumped to finally be going to school. It was everything he had ever dreamed of whilst stuck down in the sewers. People were treating him (mostly) normal, he had made a few friends from the improv club, and he got to sit at a desk , with a teacher at the front, handing out tests . Well actually, that last one was super lame. Donnie seemed to enjoy it well enough, but he also didnât keep getting Câs and Fâs back on his Bio quizzes.
But Mikey was a pretty optimistic guy! Because he found that even groaning about weekly quizzes, alarms going off way too early, and suffering through shitty cafeteria food were all things that he could be grateful for. They made him feel normal, like all the other teenage boys he watched on television, and had wished desperatelyâfor as long as he rememberedâto be like them.
There were stillâŚa few issues, though. A couple kinks to straighten out (haha, kinks ).
The main one being: the bustling highschool halls were super overwhelming. Being raised in a literal hole in the ground with only his brothers and dad to keep him company, he never had the chance to get used to crowds like the ones he encounters every day now.
At first it didnât seem like a big deal. His brothers were probably experiencing the same thing, right? So he just had to go up to them and ask. But after soft launching the idea, not trying to seem like too much of a wimp or a whiner, he was met with lukewarm responses at best. None of them seemed to relate to the feeling (definitely not anxiety) he got everytime the school bell rang and the halls filled with studentsânot even awkward, nerdy Donnie. That just made him feel even worse. He was Mikey after all. Michelangelo . The life of the party. Where his other brothers might shy from the spotlightâexcept Leo, he was a high-key attention hogâhe embraced it. That's what he had thought anyways. They all tried to pry after he brought up the topic, worry creasing their faces, but he brushed them off with an ease that certainly didnât come naturally.
The second major issue (there were actually only two issues) was the physical problems that accompanied his earlier issue.
Thus far it hadnât turned into anything serious, just a bit of a quickening heartbeat and some slight lightheadedness. But today seemed to have it in for him. He had woken up a little lateâsnoozing his first two alarms was the norm, but he really relied on that third one. Once he heard the fourth one he knew he was screwedâand subsequently missed breakfast. He loved to have all the company of their new mutant friends, but not when it meant running out of food! There should totally be some sort of seniority system. No way can they cheat him out of his breakfast.
As if it couldnât get any worse, he ate pavement falling off his skateboard on the way to school. It was more embarrassing than painful, honestly. The streets of New York City in the early morning have plenty of people to serve as witnesses to your worst moments and his brothers being overly worried only made it worse as he tried to play it off as cool as possible. They were totally yucking his yum. Not cool.
He walked away from the encounter with scraped knees and palms, a busted chin, and a bitten tongue. Worst of all, the loss to his street cred was immeasurable.
He tried to get back on his feet throughout the rest of the day, but he was thrown off balance again when he got a pop quiz in Algebra. One that he definitely was not ready for. After only two weeks going to school, he could say, with utmost confidence, that pop quizzes were Satanâs gift to man and that they should be completely banned consequently.
He stumbled through it with educated guesses and vibes only and walked to lunch afterwards knowing he was cooked.
When they first transferred in, he was excited to see that both Leo and Donnie were in his lunch block. At the time, he still wasnât sure if he would make any friends and having someone to eat lunch with was apparently survival tip number one in highschool. Things didnât turn out exactly how he hoped though. After only a few days of sitting together (April included), Donnie decided to branch off and sit with some boys from the robotics club. By now it had become the norm, with him occasionally spending lunch in Ms. Aâs room to study or just enjoy some silence. It wasnât much longer before Leo did the same, though he returned more frequently to eat lunch with April.
To compensate, Mikey started inviting some of his newly-acquired friends to sit with him and April. Usually this worked out fine and Mikey could ignore the slight sadness of being separated from his brothers, but every once in a while April couldnât make it due to some project with the student newspaper. This was fine when he still had his two friends, but even they had to sometimes leave to practice for the upcoming advanced theatre performance (they were juniors and Mikey found out that freshmen werenât allowed into advanced theatre).
All this to say, if the stars aligned just right, he might be completely alone. And of course today, walking into the cafeteria ready to complain about his woes to a willing ear, he scanned the room and found none of his usual companions. Great . Really just great .
As he stood in line to get his food, the tray being steadily filled by all the sweet food he could get his hands onâhis Algebra teacher kept glaring at him during the quiz because his stomach wouldnât stop growling. Well it wasnât his fault, maâam!---he scouted out the room, deciding what to do.
It was totally lame to sit alone, but maybe he could just bother one of his brothers? He didnât want to actually annoy them though, and he knew how much they craved their independence after 15 years of being stuck together. He may have felt perfectly fine still being a little dependent (maybe even craved it a bit), but clearly his brothers were different.
In that case, he could probably go hang out in the library or something. Wait no, he couldn't take food in there. Shoot. Well maybe he could just eat really fast and then spend the rest of the time in the library. As long as he was in and out, nobody would even notice that he was eating alone and not just waiting for a friend to get there.
As he neared the end of the line, worrying over a plan on how to spend his lunch without a mass of teenagers judging him, he began to feel a dreadfully familiar feeling.
It started so minor that he questioned if he was even feeling it, or if he had just placebo-d himself into feeling it due to worrying so much. His body started to feel ever so slightly off balance, and he felt the beginning stages of dizziness creep up on him.
Shit, shit shit.
He looked around to see if anybodyâsomehowâcould tell that he was starting to feel off-kilter. Nobody seemed any the wiser. In the distance, movement caught his eye. It was Leo, waving to him from his table, a smile on his face. He waved back, trying to disguise the emotions taking over his body as the dizziness progressed. He just had to play it cool.
He suddenly had a brilliant idea, looking down at his mostly-full lunch tray. He balanced it on one hand while using the other to reach for the sugary foods first. Surely the dizziness was just caused by low blood sugar. He had missed breakfast, after all. He could solve this easily, before he reached the point of no return.
He ripped off the lid of his cup of Jello with his teeth and tilted his head back to down the whole cup like a shot. After that, he moved on to his chocolate chip cookie. His dad would not be pleased, Mikey had had enough âsweets are for after you finish your mealâ talks to last a lifetime.
But Mikey had bigger things to worry about once he realized that the feeling was only increasing. His vision was starting to gray around the edges and he felt an overwhelming need to get to the ground and quick.
He tried leaning against the tray counter for just a second, but was met with an odd look when he more-so stumbled into it. He tried to smile to discourage any questioning, but it was getting progressively harder as he could only half-see the boy in front of him and parts of his body were beginning to go numb.
His surroundings started to blur as he tried really hard to focus on not passing out. He was starting to sweat profusely and he could no longer feel his fingers around his tray. Things really started to go south when he noticed his tray slipping from his grasp with a loud clatter, causing heads to turn from all the way across the cafeteria. He knew that all of this was happening, but he found it almost impossible to interact with his own body. It felt like he was merely an observer, watching through a windowâno, a keyhole. He felt like he could get only the barest glimpse into the present, vision still narrowed and half obscured.
More things happened without his permission. His knees met the cold tile floor, hands still grasping onto the counter in an effort to stay upright. He refused to lay down on the school floor in front of who knows how many people.
Oh, shoot. This was so embarrassing. Kids were nosy, which is how he knew they were all probably staring at him right now. He could feel the touches of the kids in front of and behind himâone trying to pull him upright, another feeling his forehead. He could hear two distant shouts of his name. Luckily for his present self, the feeling of embarrassment didnât seem to reach him the same way the objective knowledge of it did.
All he could feel now was the heaviness of his limbs, the sweat beading on his forehead, the cool tile of the floor. He could no longer fight the force pulling him to the ground.
Any hopes of comfort abandoned him as his condition failed to get better after laying down. He had reached the point of no return then. He was now forced to wait in that awkward spot where he was aware enough to still hear the murmuring of the crowd and the shouts of his brothersâwhen had they gotten here?---begging him to get up, but he was too far away from his body to do anything about it.
All he could do was lay there, eyes open but unseeing, and wait for the storm to pass.
âMove aside! Give him space!â He heard someone say. That sounded like Donnieâs voice.
At the same time, he felt a familiar handârough and three-fingered, a hand that he had felt many times throughout his lifeârun across his face before cupping the back of his head, keeping it off the hard ground. That must be Leo.
âMikey? Mikey! Are you okay!?â All of Leoâs usual bravado was absent as he crouched over Mikey, looking down at his brotherâs dull eyes and slightly shaking body.
Mikey leaned into Leoâs touch, urging his mouth to move and answer his brother. Though he felt slightly delirious, he couldnât find it in him to match his brotherâs pure panic. He answered slowly, words slurring together, âI think Iâm gonna pass out. I canât see anything.â
Leo took a deep breath, trying to think of what to do. By now, Donnie had run over as well, after convincing the crowd as well as possible to both back up and to get a teacher. Donnie kneeled down as well, avoiding the spilled cafeteria food on the ground, taking in Mikeyâs form. He looked like he was unconscious already, head lulling to the side, and he only knew better after hearing him answer Leo. He looked up and met Leoâs worried eyes, trying to get into his head and see what the plan was. From the sheer look of panic, however, it seemed there was no plan. With no teacher in sight and nobody being entirely sure what was wrong with Mikey, he decided that they needed to at least get him to the nurse. Luckily it was right across from the cafeteriaâhe could see it from here, up the small flight of stairs and across the hallâbut he figured it might be too far to carry Mikey. He looked down at his brother. âHey Mikey, I know youâre not feeling great, but do you think you could make it to the nurse?â
Mikey blinked, but his eyes didnât move to look at Donnie. He wasnât looking at anyone, actually, gaze directed somewhere in the distance. His head shook slowly from side to side, âI canât stand up. Iâll pass out.â
âWeâll help carry you, Mikey.â Leo chimed in with support. âYouâll just have to lean on us.â
Mikey started to shake his head again, but they both realized that it was more of a plan than a question in the first place. They both started to stand up, supporting Mikeyâs weight by his arms. They cleared the crowd and began to half support, half drag a stumbling Mikey to the entrance of the cafeteria. He was silent as they carried him along, his stilted steps being the only thing alerting them that he was still conscious.
As they made their way up the stairs, Mikey strayed way off course and ended up running directly into the handrail. He didnât even seem to feel it, not reacting in any way. Leo muttered an apology before steering him back on course.
Mikey could barely feel anythingânot even the ground under his feetâas he walked up the stairs and to the nurses office. That was his guess of where he ended up, anyway, not being able to see or hear much. He felt himself become horizontal again, presumably getting laid down on a cot.
At some point somebody gave him some water, which he nursed with small sips, hand grasped tightly around the bottle. It wasnât necessarily making him feel better, but it was able to make him feel something. The chill of water down his throat kept him groundedâfinally a sensation that he could experience after spending who knows how long in a weird limbo of lost senses.
The next time he tuned into his surroundings he could hear Raphâs voiceâwhen did he get here?---and he could feel a bit of sensation returning to his limbs. The ringing in his ears was still present, but vague shapes of light and shadow were starting to form in his vision.
There was somebody petting his head as muted, unintelligible conversation floated through the nurseâs office.
Luckily, sensation seemed to return at a much faster rate than when it disappeared. Mikey could see now that the lights overhead were only half-lit, the curtain around his cot cutting off some of the light from the rest of the infirmary. Beside both sides of his bed there were chairs pulled up and all his brothers sat in them, with one extra chair being noticeably absent.
Shifting his gaze without moving his head, he could see that Raph held the partially crushed water bottle that he couldâve sworn he was holding a second ago. Looking down to confirm his hands were empty seemed to catch the attention of the others as they halted their conversation and suddenly turned to him.
Leo was the first to act, as usual. âOhmygosh! Mikey, are you okay now?â
Along with his exclamation he had bolted up from his seat, pushing it back with a harsh screeching sound in the process. The slow petting had also stopped, letting Mikey know that it was indeed Leo. Mikey was about to answer his question and tell him that he really did feel fine now, dizziness and malaise almost entirely absent, when his return to awareness granted him with a terrible thought.
He groaned. âNo. Iâm not okay.â
âWhatâs wrong? Are you dizzy? Does your head hurt?â Donnie questioned furiously, trying to figure out the problem. Raph looked on in concern as well.
Mikey sighed heavily and shifted to a more seated position in the cot, back now leaned against the wall. He ran his hands down his face with dread. âI canât believe I just passed out in front of the whole freaking cafeteria. This is the death of my whole social life!â
âIâm sure it canât be that bad.â Raph chimes in. âSurely not that many people sawâŚâ
He trails off as both Leo and Donnie furiously shake their heads, only further confirming to Mikey that his hopes of normalcy are gone forever. With the way people gossiped, everybody and their mothers would know by tomorrow. Thereâs no way people would pass by the chance to talk about the new mutant freak transfer student passing out during lunch.
His brothers share looks of concern as they notice him getting lost in his head and making himself only more upset.
âItâll be fine, really. I mean think about April! Sure people called her Puke Girl forâŚa little whileâŚbut once she did something more interesting, people mostly stopped!â Donnie said with false chipperness in his tone.
âMostly?â Mikey asked, unimpressed.
Leo joined in, ignoring Mikeyâs less than enthused look. âYeah! Iâm sure you can totally wow them with your comedy or, uh, or your skateboarding tricks or something!â
Mikey wasnât that deeply comforted by their attempts at consolation, but he could at least appreciate the effort. And when he thought about it, it really wasnât that bad to have his brothers all together again like this. He was hit by how selfish that thought wasâafter all, he had caused all of them concern and torn them away from their lunch and their friendsâbut he figured some thoughts were supposed to be kept secret.
He smiled up at them, trying to relieve some of the nervous tension. âYeah, youâre right, bros. Iâm sure theyâll forget about it in no time.â
His attempts worked as he observed all of them settle just a bit, still worried for his condition, but glad that he wasnât so worried about the incident anymore. As his anxiety decreased, he realized that he really did feel better. Because of that, he thought that it was totally chill to joke about it now. He was a comedian after all, his whole job was to bring levity to a situation.
âYa know, now that I think about it, it was actually pretty funny.â He chuckled. âI canât believe I actually passed out in front of everyone. They probably thought I was dying or something.â
His brothers did not seem to find it as funny as he did. Well, if they wanted to be lame about it, that was their loss, honestly. Unfortunatrly, Leo seemed to crack after Mikeyâs remark. â They !? If by âtheyâ you mean me, then yes, they did think you were dying. One second you were just standing in line and then I saw you drop to the ground! You kept saying that you couldnât see anything and that you were gonna pass out. Then, when we were walking you to the nurses office you walked right into a handrail and didnât even react. Do you even remember that? Or how you got here?â
Mikey shook his head no, slightly cowed by Leoâs wave of manic concern, his rant increasing in speed and intensity as he went along.
âI thought that your injuries from the fight with Superfly or the Milking machine were catching up to you or something! I mean why else would youâŚâ He stopped his rant to look down at Miket suspiciously, âWait. You didnât eat with us for breakfast this morning. Did you not get anything to eat at all before lunch?â
Mikeyâs guilty silence was all Leo needed as confirmation. Mikey knew that his lack of breakfast was probably a factor, so he let Leo continue with that train of thought. He didnât really want to correct him and tell him that sometimes the stress of life and of school and of fitting into a world that wasnât built for people like him and one that would never fully accept him would all build up, and when it did he started to feel it too. Sometimes that meant getting anything from nightmares to headaches to dizziness. And apparently fainting spells. Maybe someday he would tell one of them, but he figured right now wasnât the best of timesâwhat with all that had happened earlier.
Mikey had kind of zoned out of Leoâs rant (something he tended to do anyway), and when he tuned back in Leo had turned to Raph and Donnie. He was talking to them about making sure that, in the future, Mikey ate every morning. He couldnât bring himself to put a stop to their intervention because, annoying as it was that they still sometimes babied him, he knew it was the way they cared. And he would never be able to turn that down.
âNext time, come tell one of us if you feel like youâre gonna pass out. Even if you feel only a little dizzy, okay?â
Mikey looked up at Donnie. He thought for a moment before nodding. He didnât know how well he would actually follow through on that promise, but he figured it couldnât hurt to try and be better. At the very least, it would save him from another embarrassingly public incident like this one.
After that exchange, all of them waited in the infirmary for a little longer, insisting that he rest for a little while longer before they tried to make their way back home. When he asked he found out that apparently all of them were cleared to go home for the day, upon Splinterâs request. Mikey was already mentally preparing himself for the lecture and the wave of overbearing care he would receive from his dad when he got home. He also saw that he had multiple texts from April who had obviously heard about the situation, but apparently wasnât able to make it to the nurseâs office before they left. Her texts were a mixture of threats for making her worry and promises of intense mothering when he came back to school.
They eventually started the journey back home, albeit at a much slower pace than the way there. Mikey was apparently not allowed to skateboard home, and now his board was held loosely at his side. On his other side, he leaned slightly on Raph, but not enough to impair their walking.
âAll this attention is pretty great. Maybe I should pass out more often.â He said with a laugh. He was jolted out of it though when he was met with three synchronized flicks to his forehead, causing a slight sting across his whole face. He glared up at them. âOw! Hey!â
âToo soon, little bro.â Raph said, only half joking.
Both Donnie and Leo gave twin disappointed head shakes, though the smirk on Donnieâs face showed that he was a little less serious than Leo was.
Mikey rolled his eyes. Older brothers could be so annoying sometimes, honestly . He wouldnât trade it for the world though. He knew now to appreciate the time they had together, before they ran off for good.
Drawing TMNT MM Mikey since it's my favorite iteration and because I just started watching TOTMNT :)
Some Mikey sketches after not drawing for ages. Not my best, but I can't stop that TMNT grind.
( also didn't use a reference for the digital piece)
mental illness... more like metal illnes.. thats so metal.....!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!đ¤đ¤
Song is anarchy by stomach book
(i tried not to make it too eye strainy if you want a version w/o flashing please let me know!!)
Happy mutation day lets go to the beach đ˘đ
i hope they explode
He/They/Neo Genderfluid Pansexual
Has ADHD
Can only read ASL
Makes Donnie breakfast if he sees him still working in the morning
His hands are shaky sometimes because of using his âmystic handsâ
When he was a kid April would borrow him some of her skirts and dresses
When Donnie bought him and mike comfort hoodies he turned his into a zip up because of sensory, and stimming reasons
Mikey draws little drawings as a gifts for his brothers
He is the worst swimmer of all his brothers because box turtles are terrestrial. Most likely, if no one was watching him, he could drown himself
He organizes family gatherings every week or two
Mikey & Donnie absolutely hates squishy fruits and vegetables. The texture of food that they eats must meet theirs standards
When heâs overstimulated or overwhelmed he blasts music in his headphones and rubs his hands, or taps on his knees
Sometimes because he is the youngest he has the impression that he is not strong enough physically and mentally. Thatâs why when heâs overwhelmed he doesnât go to his brothers for help and he hits his knees/head until it hurts, and snaps him out of itÂ
He curses often, but only when Raph isnât around
Mikey has delicate stomach and for no reason he can throw up in the middle of the night. Because of Leoâs insomnia and Donnies hyperfixation on work, they are the ones to take care of him if he needs them
When he canât sleep he goes to one of his brothers to sleep with them. Depending on what he needs, he goes to different brothers. To Raph if he is scared and need comfort, to Leo if he just canât sleep, and to Donnie if he just need company
His adhd brain sometimes has strange thoughts which he says out loud
Mikey & Raph sometimes laugh so much that they just sit in the living room and wheezes
Does little acting in front of the mirror to the tik tok sounds or music in the middle of the night
Mikey is the one who takes care of his brothers mental health, while Raph is responsible for physical comfort
Heâs the type of person who sticks his stickers on everything. On the other hand Donnie have all of his stickers in folders and never uses them
Mikey don't usually drinks coffee, because of his adhd, it makes him more sleepy
Fav pizza: Something classic like Margherita or Capricciosa