This Was For Valentine's But I Finished It Early And I'll Be Too Busy For Valentine's Day (FOR INCREDIBLY

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.

I don't draw the rise turtles nearly as often as I should

hc; I always believed that Donnie held a lot of guilt after Leo was hurt so badly he slipped into a coma. Berating himself constantly that if he had simply listened Leo would be okay, not even able to go back into the bathroom because of the overwhelming guilt. 

  Which is also why he had so much pent up aggression that was taken out on Casey, also because Casey aggravates him but he doesn’t normally ‘brawl’ with Casey and so that’s why. 

  After Leo wakes up, he constantly worries about his well being and not wanting to have push too hard. Even making him medicine to try and help him heal faster (we all saw how that turned out) and even greatly distressed when Leo has to face the Creep alone. 

  It’s also why he doesn’t argue as heavily with him, save for with Don Vizioso because of the danger his own life was put in. I feel that is also a way to try and prevent Leo from doing something alone again as well as get vengeance on the man that nearly killed him.

TL:DR; Donnie feels guilt and becomes a bit more protective over Leo’s well being.

Projecting onto Rise! Mikey by making him a Houseki no Kuni fan

He has all 13 volumes on a shelf in his room

Happy Birthday Leon Kuwata my oinkly boinkly

If I had a nickel for every time I've made a tmnt 2012 AU bc I had ideas for cool character designs but got emotionally invested in writing a story to go along with it I'd have two nickels, which isn't a lot but it's weird that it happened twice

THE character of all time in my opinion. 🫶

(This drawing is kinda ass, but whatever- Lmao)

The line between kink and horror is measured only in cowardice

....but.... why?

Now that my Tokyo Ghoul AU is public I can finally talk about it in depth, so I'm actually gonna explain some of the worldbuilding and some of the creative liberties I took

Some of it is just expanding on certain aspects that I don't think were explained in the manga in full

Here we go:

So in the og story, there exists these things called Red Children cells, or rc cells (they're called this bc an individual cell look like a curled up fetus), and they're pretty integral to what does and doesn't make a person a ghoul. Splinter was originally a ghoul, but due to the mutation, his rc cells mutated, and were no longer registered as rc cells by his immune system

Shredder and Tang Shen were humans, and Karai would be born as a half-ghoul

Not only did the mutation eliminate Splinter's rc cells, it introduced them into the turtle's bodies for the first time, combining it with the mutagen. It's said that when a person's rc factor is high enough, they become a ghoul. It's never specified how high it must be, so I've made it an rc factor of 1000

Humans on average have an rc factor of 200 to 500, and ghouls have an average of 1,000 to 8,000

The turtle's factor was below 1,000. It isn't until they meet April that things take a turn

Now I'm admittedly making shit up here, but I'm headcannoning that April's psychic powers can work on a smaller level too. More contained emotional outbursts (like screaming in fear), can send some kind of psychic waves through the air that react with different things in mysterious ways. Here it sorta stimulates the mutagen-rc mixed cells floating around their bodies and causing them to multiply

This happens when Donnie catches her and she screams btw

At this point, the transformation has already started for all of them, but bc he's the one who spends the most time with her, Donnie's transformation happens a LOT quicker than his brothers

His is complete by that night, and his brother's finish in the early hours of the morning

There's more, but I've talked long enough lol