shadows and shells

reblogs TMNT 2003 and comic-verse (icon by sassatello) ASWF on ao3/ffnet/squidgeworld On queue; slow replies (FUB-free) SFW; no ships anti-AI; anti-antis

[shadows-shells]

Hello! What’s your favorite fanfic you’ve read recently? 🐢💚

hi! Wasn't sure what genre you're seeking - but as a TMNT blog, here are some TMNT 2003/12/18 favs:

(im ASWF on ao3/ffnet 🙂 if i didn't list what u're looking for, pls go through my bookmarks/favs/recs!! there are so many brilliant writers out there, pls also check their author profiles 😁)

*TMNT 2003*

Multichp 2k3: A Paper Wall / The Wooden Bestiary by Amicitia Revenant --15 yrs on and i still revisit this. it's about the family piecing back their lives and finding a new better normal, growing tgt as a family, after Leo returns from Japan after so long. Particularly in Wooden Bestiary, Leo really makes himself a space beyond son/brother and that fic is absolutely a formative experience. 

Multichp 2k3: Any Cost by Flynne @/dawntreaderflynne --"Raph snorted. "Leo lost his vote when he got himself killed."" The bros defy time and space for Leo, in a thrilling piece of teamwork and courage. This fic will break your heart and then put it back together all at once. The coda is so heartwarming and healing. Renet and Splinter are awesome in this too.  Flynne's entire catalogue slaps and i recc all of it!

Oneshot Action/char-study 2k3: Left Behind by Sewer Slider --a brilliant Raph PoV on Leo. Leo is forced to choose one brother to leave behind in enemy hands - and he does. BUT. the resolution of the fic will leave your heart full. A formative experience. 18 yrs later and this is still the Leonardo i write toward. 

Oneshot Donny 2k3: Pomp and Circumstance by Cynlee --THE happy ending for Don in my book 🥰 family feels and brotherly banter.

Oneshot Family Fluff 2k3: Leo, the Mob and the Baby / Four Turtles, a Rat and a Baby by Gemdrive --Leo gets shot protecting a baby from the mob, his loving protective bros come crashing in to save him and trashtalk, and they bring the sweet baby home. OP has a lovely, dancing narrative voice and my summary isn't doing it justice. Just read 😂 

Oneshot Humour 2k3: Desperation by yoyo-anarchy --this one makes me laugh out loud even a decade later. Just cute, harmless, sweet family fluff and in-char banter all around 🥰

Oneshot Leo 2k3: The Grandfather Paradox by Nekotsuki @/plothooksinc --yall know and love Nekotsuki for Underdark but this one is SO underrated. It justifies the entire S6 and shows why S6 is CRITICAL to Leo's growth and recovery as a whole. 

WIP Multichp 2k3: The More Things Change by @/calliopechild --lol they're gon hate me for publicising an old WIP but listen. It's an intelligent, thoughtful and carefully-characterised premise of 'the Utroms have a good reason for making that ooze and the bros get to become human'. Just the careful consideration, compromise and discussion that goes into 'should we become human' is well worth your time. Another formative experience for me from my teens that stands up to this day. 

*RotTMNT*

Oneshot RotTMNT: the fourth one’s out by taizi @/goodlucktai --Taizi is very skilled in general, pretty much everything they do is a banger. i've been eagerly following their Natsume Yuujinchou/FFXV fics for a decade now, but this one is special to me because THIS fic convinced me to start RotTMNT. It is Leonardo at his best.  Yall prolly know Taizi for the brilliant the archer and coming right on back for you but seriously check out their whole portfolio 🙏

oneshot RotTMNT: Far From the Four Winds by mangogreent --a beautifully-written, heartwarming nameless outsider PoV on Leo and the movie, and a lovely happy ending. 🥰

Multichp RotTMNT: Times Five by pickledcarrotsandradish --Leo mentally&physically splits, and now they have to get their one unified Leo back. the psychological complexity of this, chef's kiss. Also brilliant pacing, characterisation and a stunning plot twist. 

Multichp post-movie RotTMNT: the new york conspiracy corner by blueh --the turtles love their homecity of NY and their homeplanet...and this is how NY/Earth grows to know and love them back just as much. There is so much heart in this and the prose is full of light and life. 

Multichp movieAU RotTMNT: 'The Neon Void' Saga by sugarpastels --Leo doesn't get out of the Prison Dimension (at first). Twisted beyond recognition, nonetheless that core of love and altruism keeps him working for justice, while his family tries to protect Leo's memory (and later, bring him home). Gorgeous prose, full of mystery and family feels, it is a story full of love. 

Multichp post-movie RotTMNT: write this down on my headstone (it wasn't what i hoped for) by bottledovercast --"Just because his brothers pulled him out with love and light, does not mean Leo left despair and darkness behind." And then OP brings this to a stunning, thrilling, intelligent and soaring conclusion. Beautiful prose and incisive characterisation. 

*TMNT 2012*

Multichp 2k12: On Turning Ten (And So Forth) by itz_me_E --THE happy ending for 2k12 Leo in my book. Rising from the ashes, making and finding himself out of the pieces, better than before. A healing experience from start to finish. 

Multichp 2k12: Stealth and Sacrifice by GoblinCatKC --clan tradition demands that the perfect ninja be invisible - but Leo's brothers love him too much for that. 

Oneshot 2k12: Silenced by DreamerofCurses --i cannot do better than the original summary: "Rendered mute from a fight with Karai, Leonardo suffers a revelation about his father." Hauntingly, beautifully written. 

Oneshot 2k12: A Bold and Daring Outing by TrueLlama717 --April encourages and gives Leo money to go to his first Space Heroes con. It is SO beautifully-written. THE happy ending for Leo i didn't know i needed and wanted. It is a healing experience: Leo's first time out in daylight and making a 'rebellious' choice for himself. 

*TMNT comics*:

Oneshot Playgrounds by Kay the Cricketed --Mikey and Leo, and a heartwarming, lovely happy ending for all our boys. This is canon in my book regardless of the iteration 🥰

*TMNT crossovers*

Oneshot RotTMNT/2k3: A Soul with Two Faces by GreenGoddessSmoothie --Nardo drops into the 2k3 dimension, and then Leo and Nardo save each other. THE definitive happy ending for both Nardo and Leo, and a brilliant, healing, warm deep dive into both their psyches. i love this one to pieces. 

WIP multichp 2k12/RotTMNT: Welcome Home Brother / Shadows Make the Stars Shine Brighter by OptimisticallyCynical @/optimisticallycyn --WHB is psych horror with some body horror; Shadows is the h/c Actor AU of WHB. (They can be read on their own but reading them tgt adds so much to the experience.) As with all of Cyn's work: there is ample and hard-earned family feels and bonding, healing character growth&recovery, incredible psychological depth&nuance, thrilling pacing and sophisticated characterisation in both fics. WHB is esp a must-read for any Frankenstein fan. Cyn worked behind-the-scenes for awhile in the industry and lends incisive insight in Shadows. It is just so intelligently and thoughtfully written all around; it makes you grow as both a reader/writer and person. i eagerly follow several WIPs - 2k12 No Use Leo Verse is also SO formative and important - and cannot recc it strongly enough.

i split these up by iteration, but tbh - pls give them all a chance regardless. 🙏 you won't regret it

for the ffn links, if anyone knows their updated ao3 link pls let me know 🙏 also any corresponding tumblr usernames not listed🙏

i also reblog others' fic reccs on this blog under #fic rec ☺ 

thanks for the ask! 🤗 haha tbh this is a long time coming. this blog is 13 yrs old, and i have ~7k bookmarks across multiple fandoms on ffnet/ao3. thx for the excuse to finally getting round to making a fic rec list 😂

[springsodas]

When you're looking through the descriptions on the toy packaging for the TMNT 2003 series over on TMNTtoys.com and the package for Deep Divin' Donatello says he trained an orphaned sting ray to be his best friend.

[asoftertmnt]

1203

[halogalopaghost]

03 boys having Expressions

[yzafre]

Someone liked a post recently reminding me it's been a year since I did my draw fast experiment - so I thought I'd try redoing them!

The goals for these is - starting from a pencil sketch I have on hand - to get to "done" in under two hours, the closer to one hour the better. This one came in at an hour and 35 minutes.

Putting both the sketch and last year's version under the read more for comparison.

[red-lamento]

Sorry for off topic, but Macro-series Leonardo is wonderful  ◉◡◉ Thanks Sophie Campbell and Brittany Peer! 

[20s-turtle-posting]

Just thought about another reason why I actually love Fast Forward a lot despite its flaws, and that reason is that it’s a canon future for the turtles where, presumably, they lived happy and fulfilling lives and died in peace. The world they fought and sacrificed so much for? It’s okay, it’s still standing

But the best part? It’s a canon future where they are remembered, even if only by a few. In the future there are people who know them, people who talk about them, admire them, and try to emulate them

After they’re gone, there are still people who love them. In the future they have family

[theelvishfiddler]

03 Turtle Posting

[side-shuffling-hyperfixations]

Thinking about how the Super Turtles' sense of identity, or lack thereof. They weren't mutated by happenstance but with intention just to have these powers and were named for their powers and thus defined by their powers and were never offered or referred to by any identity outside of them so this is all they are.

Maybe that's why Blob and Grid just don't even bother wearing masks or real costumes - Blob's out here in his birthday slime suit, Grid's in his plain ol' flexible unitard because what secret identities? What you see is what you get. But Grav -- because he is a Leo in all but name -- has the most complete costume, mask, cape, emblem-engraved belt, boots, the whole shebang regardless, because if this is what he's going to be defined by, he's going to do it the "right" way. And Shelle, as a Don in all but name and an '03 Don specifically, the glue, the peacekeeper, will paste some lightning bolts on his face and chest so Grav doesn't feel isolated. It's a statement of solidarity more than anything else and that's important enough to warrant it, even if it doesn't really do anything for him.

Thinking about their silent glances around at each other when Mikey introduces himself by an actual common name and then again when he refers to Shelle as "your Donnie" because...they don't get that. We don't have that here.

Do you think they started wondering about everyday names, identities that could be theirs beyond the masks and not just what the world picked for them, after Mikey was gone?

[sassatello]

idiots with a blanket

[twistmygrinder]

[pumpkinpie59]

@super-un-stable ‘s tmnt-tober day 18 - armor

SORRY IM POSTING AFTER MIDNIGHT I FORGOT—

[we-are-stubborn]

Usagi

[alligatorcarapace]

Okay so I know the 03 Donny Medic headcanon is super popular, but I just thought of a fun alternative to it.

Looking at 03 canon, weirdly enough, anytime we see the gang hurt that either Splinter, Leatherhead, or Casey seems to be the one moving them around and replacing cloths and what not.

Maybe after season 4 I could see Donny brushed up on his medical stuff, but before then? There seems to be an implication the adults(How old is Leatherhead in 03, cause in Mirage, based on that one Laird drawing he's a teen, and in 2012 he starts out implied young but then is trapped in Dimension X for like 40 years so is def an adult by then???) take care of them instead, which considering how 03 deals with their family and friend dynamics tracks.

Meanwhile, interestingly, Donny has not shown a lot of medical specific knowledge, only things that interact with other concepts such as him recognizing that giant bugs with stingers likely function similar to earth's common bees, wasps, and hornets. However he struggled with actually treating the giant wasp's paralytically effect's on Raph, besides a hope that it too will wear off(Yes there is actual things you can do when stung to help lessen pain and other issues, I've gone through that myself. Stepping on stingers is not a fun experience. Dipping the area in cool water for preventing swelling helps a bit. Though with the turtles being turtles idk if that'll work. I mean they where doing the cold rag over forehead treatment on unconscious Leo at the farm house so maybe???)

Of course if you can find a scene pre-season 4 that counters this, fair enough. I just can't think of any scene like that right now.

Not saying they don't exist of course.

I'm also not saying that Donny or the other boys have no medical knowledge, just not the specialized stuff that say 2012 Donnie has(One turtle will collapse from the stress of everything he's doing, but hey at least he can reanimate the dead while making retro-mutagen). Instead I imagine they can do the minor stuff anyone who's taken a first aid class might know.

So what about the adults?

What are their qualifications and experience that led them to learn what Donatello "I want to learn everything" Splinterson didn't yet?

Well for Casey Jones, we know has to have some level of medical knowledge from his own solo vigilante gig pre-meeting the turtles. If he did any actual hockey he might've picked up some stuff there.

Then there's Splinter learned under the Ancient One and clearly knows some of the healing mystical stuff him alongside the Daimyo have.

Lastly Leatherhead was obviously raised in that environment and clearly is shown over and over to have his biochem mutagen degree, we can see that even in Good Genes, though even there he struggles since he did not make Bishop's knock off ooze.

Keeping to 03 themes, rather than one of them doing everything, it's a combination of them all helping.

This also has the fun side effect of Leo during his training under the Ancient One, would likely be the first time anyone besides his dad (or brothers for the minor stuff) would be helping him patch up. After all, we saw what he was fighting while fighting his emotional demons. He would need a patch up after that.

For Leo, it sets in the loneliness being away most likely brought with it. But for the Ancient One? This is his Great Grandturtle, his poor hurt, silly, great grandturtle.

A moment of bonding, but it's painful for both them, and that's not becuase of the physical wounds.

[emeraldhonour]

Ooh, I really like the idea of Casey especially helping to stitch the Turtles back up and reset broken bones, etc.

Especially since, before they met him, they probably didn't have a huge need for field medicine - it was really only at the start of S1 that they started going topside regularly and fighting bad guys. They had no idea the Foot even existed before the first episode, after all.

(Splinter as well would know basic first aid. You can't tell me none of his boys had any scrapes or tumbles with the trouble they got themselves into as tots XD)

And as a vigilante, Casey probably knows quite a bit about treating relatively minor injuries that he wouldn't want to attract attention at a hospital for. His apartment seems pretty run down; I doubt he's got the spare cash for medical bills.

It's fun to think of him teaching the Turtles basic field medicine. I can almost see Raph picking up most of it, since he's most likely to be the one patching up Casey after one of their nights on the town. 😅

[alligatorcarapace]

Do you think about what is was like the first time one of them broke their bones and Casey had to step up?

The vows to never let their brother be in that kind of pain, only for it to canonically happen over and over and over again? Do think that was the moment it really set in for Casey that these were teenagers? Do you think about the struggles of first aid in the sewers with all the infection risks that comes with that? Even for a system made mostly to regulate the river from flooding the city, the present is still there. Normal scrapes become much more risky. There had to be an isolation effect.

Casey and April would've been the first time they would've had reliable access to clean medical supplies since their visit to the Ancient One that none of the turtles remember. Did they even know about the risks they were taking, or was it just life?

Do you ever think about the relief that comes with community?

Because I do

[emeraldhonour]

That sounds like ideal fanfic material to me😉

I do like to headcanon that their mutation makes them all much more resilient to bacteria and infection (and makes the Turtles and Leatherhead less reliant on sunlight than regular reptiles). Otherwise, yeah; even a small scrape could easily turn septic when you live in the city's waste disposal tunnels. It's a miracle the tots even made it to be teenagers, otherwise!

Counterpoint: what if the Turtles and Splinter never really had to worry about infection risk due to their unique mutation, only for one of their dear friends to get super sick after visiting their home in the Sewers? What if Casey had an open wound he hadn't even noticed, or April had a compromised immune system due to already fighting off a cold? And that's to say nothing of characters like Usagi who come from other worlds and therefore have no prior exposure to earth pathogens.

The options are plentiful for sick-fics and the inherent guilt at inadvertently causing their good friends so much suffering!

[prehistoricterrapin]

Some reptile blood is bacteria resistant. But yeah it makes sense for them to rarely get sick. We talked about Leo and Donny knowing some medic stuff. How about Raph? With all the fights and danger he gets into I am sure he had to learn

[yellowhollyhock]

I like to headcanon Leatherhead as the main medic, with Raph being the one to pick up on some things faster, especially helping with stitches because, y'know

Love this idea of Casey being really helpful there, too, I hadn't ever noticed! Makes total sense for him, and those moments when he Realizes how young they are always get me ❤️

[alligatorcarapace]

If Leatherhead was the main medic, than was it Casey and Splinter taking care of them before hand with the other's picking up what they learn for them? Because I imagine that season 1 was a particularly rough transitional period for them becuase of that.

Personally I don't see Raph having any reason besides his personality for knowing any more medical knowledge than the rest of the turtles.

Though I could easily see it as something he and Donny learn togther, due to them in particular having the personality and experiences that stress the need to learn said skills becuase something happened to another brother and they weren't able to do anything.

Maybe even have a family meeting about it with Leo and Mikey meanwhile most likely making the choice to continue on their hyper specialized roles. With Leo realizing you can't be fully focused with giving medical attention while also making choices that require you to have you know what everyone else is doing. Meanwhile with Mikey he consistently struggles with focus and fear(Both of other people/places/things, but also with the self and what might happen if he failed. Grudge match and the Underground are both prime examples of this.), as well as nunchuks not being good for dealing with threats while near a wounded. Bo staffs meanwhile can be used to keep distance and the default usage of sai's are catch, manipulate, redirect weapons to more ideal locations while leaving the target as their weapon is caught. Plus having two people able to give field aid is also useful should someone go down. Thus it would make sense for both Raph and Donny to learn overtime.

03 Raph is interesting when it comes to fights and medical knowledge in that unlike say 07 or 12 Raph he doesn't go out and pick fights. Meaning he likely wouldn't be more experienced than his brothers with dealing with the fallout. He's very reactive in that way, just like the whole of the 03 crew(Notice how they don't do superhero style patrols, they either have targeted missions or things happing to them during training runs/down time).

Even the rough housing he engages in with Mikey tends to be instigated by ya orange boy(Look at how Mikey starts of the chain that leads to the all out turtle wrestling at the end of Reflections. Even here Raph is being reactive, this time in defense of Leo who got called cheesy for his sincerity being admittedly very cheeseily worded speech). The only time he's the engager is with Casey interestingly. Which even then, we only see more rougher forms of said play during the episode where we meet Casey Jones. After that it's mostly just a shoulder check here and a bap there.

Mikey really capitalized on the Raph Roughhousing.

But back to my point, it's that personality trait that I feel would make him good for learning a higher level of medical knowledge than Mikey and Leo. Especially since as the show went on, Raph got better and better at controlling his emotions while in the moment of a disaster.

Also yeah the fact that, in season 1 at the very least, they're 15 tearing me up to pieces.

[emeraldhonour]

I do find it fascinating how many people use Donnie as the team medic, when he canonically states he's not a doctor in 'The Big Brawl Part 3'.

That's not to throw shade at anyone, of course. There is merit to him at least being knowledgeable about their biology and anatomy. And he's the most likely to at least understand the more technical language used in medical books. He's also the one to tell Mikey he needs to wrap his twisted ankle in The Shredder Strikes (but that might just be because he's the one to find Mikey).

But I think the biggest evidence for me that none of the Turtles are a trained medic is the S4 episode 'Bad Day' .

If any of them had the expertise or even basic knowledge to treat Splinter, they wouldn't have immediately jumped to risking involving an unknown person with their father's safety and their family's security.

None of that is to say that they didn't learn field medicine after S4, of course. And they trust Don implicitly when he says Splinter needs professional help.

Then again, in Scion of the Shredder, Splinter is the most injured and it's Don that Raph instructs to take their father when they all split up.

And when Leo finds them again in Prodigal Son, Splinter is the only one with bandages, despite Donnie leaning heavily on his bo and Mikey needing to lean on Leo to walk, so the others are at least somewhat injured.

I wouldn't put it past Don having learnt some first aid since the Battle Nexus. Goodness knows they have need of it, in their family (and with Turtle Luck running true to form against them! )

[getinthecoffin]

more sillies

[Image description: A digital illustration of the turtles from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2003 cartoon. The line art is wobbly and imprecise, with flat coloring and some light shading. From left to right, Donny, Mikey, Leo, and Raph are situated on or around a blue couch. All of them seem to be annoying Leo in some way, who sits hunched over with his arms crossed. He appears disgruntled, but also seems like he's trying to hold back a smile. Mikey is cradling Leo's cheek, Don has an arm around Mikey's shell so he can poke Leo's forehead, and Raph has an arm slung over Leo's shoulder and is nudging him with his other hand. All of them are smiling. Don also has a hand on Mikey's shoulder. Mikey's hand is placed atop it. There is a blue-gray colored panel in the background with a space-themed pattern. End description.]

[turtlesntrenchcoats]

You sure there’s nothing you want to tell me?

TMNT 2003 S4E10  Dragons Rising

[shadows-shells]

@/meanderfall's tags and meta never misses:

#im probably thinking about it too hard#but this leo having a fear of heights#and he uses this fear to get info out of this guy#when he's at his worst emotionally and mentally#idk idk but it's fucking me up

[redkehlchen]

Just finished season 5! Time for doodles! 🐢

And oh gosh I felt so bad for Splinter in that last episode! ): So he gets another hug! :)