getting back into the swing of drawing my boys again

An Arm Up on the Competition

(written for @tmnt-write-fight for @sad-leon)

Fandom: Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Prompt: ROTTMNT: Leo dealing with post-movie permanent injuries (arm or leg loss, eyesight or heading damage, ect.) and getting comfort and support from his family. Word Count: 1677

Read on AO3

Once upon a time, not too long ago, Casey Jr. told him a story of a great leader. 

This great leader was over seven feet tall, he wore his heart on his sleeve. Everyone looked up to his wit. A joke on the tip of his tongue, no matter the situation. His brother, heh, his brother was a literal fireball. Bouncing around the battlefield. But the great leader was considered a light in the grim, dark future. A beacon of hope that made the daunting task of survival seem doable. Casey even went into great detail about the night that they held karaoke. 

Despite the chaos and fear that ravaged their homes, their families, they had a night where everything was forgotten and they were all able to laugh together. And isn’t that a wild thing to hear? He would have assumed that everything was too serious to have fun. But, you know, when has he ever been right?

And this leader was a great fighter. He took on the Kraang with bared teeth and a fury unlike any others. A determination to correct the mistakes of his past and redeem himself. To forgive himself. It’s a noble enough task. His sword, chipped and worn, was a symbol in and of itself. Wrapped with the masks of his fallen brother, he carried their spirits on with him. 

Oh yeah, and that’s part of it. This leader lost his brothers. Such a thought brought aches and pains through his own heart. Having to continue on without his brothers seemed to be nightmarish. It haunted him, and it wasn’t even his own trauma. But even after losing member after member of his family, the leader just kept on leading. He kept on grinning. He kept on. He seemed to be unstoppable, impenetrable, unshakable-

But there was one key factor that Leo had over this clearly superior leader, and that was his right arm.. Sort of. 

Leo lay on his front, his bed was nearly empty of anything it used to have. Pillows, blankets, even the very few stuffed animals that belonged to him were pulled from the surface and piled up on the beanbag in the corner. His comic books that had once littered his sheets were now neatly stacked over on his desk. 

He was still recovering- He did what that great leader could never do and he beat the Kraang. Leo looked that chewed up wad of gum masquerading as a transformer in the eyes and he grinned. Even as he was broken and battered, he grinned. 

Isn’t that funny?

Of course, that didn’t mean he won without consequences. 

Cracks ran up along his shell. Donnie had scanned over it, and had shown him the x-rays. His brother, bless his heart, had told him that it wasn’t as bad as they expected. With certain courses of treatment, they could repair this damage. But Leo knew better. Hidden under his bed, deep in the back corner, Leo had a small medical textbook. It was meant for humans, so it wasn’t a one to one comparison, but it taught him just how fragile the spine and spinal cord could be. Spinal injuries were a bitch to heal. 

And guess what the shell was?

Leo knew better than to get his hopes up. While he could get better, he would never be the same. Evidence lay within his right arm. 

Yep, that’s right. Leo still had his right arm. He was staring at it, the appendage lay along the mattress beside him. Though, the only reason he knew that was because it was laying right in front of his eyes. Other than that, he couldn’t feel a thing. He couldn’t move it, he couldn’t grasp anything with it. It might as well have been amputated. 

Leo tried to move it many times, his mind telling him that it was moving. But his eyes weren’t liars. 

Luckily, his arm was the only part of him that lost function. The rest of his body was still badly damaged, pain was an inevitability when it came to these types of injuries, but his arm was the worst. 

“Leo!!”

The warm, cheery voice cuts through his own murky silence. Leo lifts his head, angling it upward to see his youngest brother standing in the doorway to his room. Mikey held a small plate in his hands, a small stack of taquitos. The smell of food filled his nostrils and Leo could cry from how hungry he was. 

“I know, I know. I got distracted. But when I came to give you food earlier, you were asleep! Even you preach that rest is important,” Mikey laughed softly as he made his way over to the bed. Hooking his foot around the leg of a nearby chair, the box turtle pulled it closer in order to plop down on it. 

Mikey wore a smile on his face, seeming to be at peace. But as he sits down, Leo spots it. The unavoidable shaking of Mikey’s arms. His brother was quick to set the plate down, crossing his arms over his thighs in order to lean forward. He’s hiding. 

Leo’s eyes focused on the plate next, and it was nothing special. Everything was clear as day to Leo, however. Mikey, despite his own pains and struggles, brought Leo food. Mikey was forced to take care of his older brother even though he was hurting. 

And Leo couldn’t move his own fucking arm. 

Leo’s eyes actually brimmed with tears this time. He let out a rough laugh, and then he couldn’t stop laughing. The jostling of his chest jabbed pain over and over into his shell. 

“Leo?? H-Hey, that’s not good for your injuries-” Mikey tried, but Leo couldn’t stop. He pressed his cheek into the mattress, his face starting to turn red as he kept laughing. He was barely able to suck in a breath between his own hysterics. 

A hand was laid across the back of his neck, but his mind barely focused on that. Here he was, getting fed fucking taquitos by his younger brother. He knew recovery took months, years even. And yet it was so fucking impossible to imagine himself a week from now, a month from now. How was he supposed to live like this? Who was he supposed to lead when he couldn’t even pull himself up from his own bed? 

He won the battle, he won and banished Kraang to an eternity of absolute nothing. Yet why was he the one given the life sentence! Leo’s eyes opened somewhat, observing his own arm once again. 

He was useless to his family, he was a liability. 

Leo’s eyes latched onto movement beyond his arm, the plate moving up above his head. Voices filled his ears, but he wasn’t able to discern what they were saying. They seemed so far away and so loud, so jumbled together. 

His throat started to ache, his laughter turning hoarse. His eyes fell closed, trying to focus on the wet fabric against his cheek. Carefully, the bed dipped on his left side. A rough, callused hand grabbed onto his left arm, squeezing the appendage carefully and the strong scent of metal filled his nostrils. He recognized this presence. 

“Donnie…” He rasped out, receiving a low hum in response as his twin’s thumb brushed along his skin. The relief it brought him was immeasurable. But then on his right side, the bed dipped again. This time it was more than before, tipping the bed just barely to the side. But a clawed hand came up to wipe away Leo’s tears. 

“We’re here for you, bro.. No matter what..” Raph’s voice cut through the clutter in his head. 

Slowly, Leo opened his eyes to spot his older brother. Bandages were wrapped around his right eye. But he smiled, his little snaggletooth glinting in the low light of his room. On his shell, protected by a blanket, Mikey sat on it. Leo felt his cackling come to an end, replaced instead by the sudden and desperate need for air. 

“You’re okay, Leo! Just take a deep breath!” Mikey called, reaching down to pat Leo’s head. The slider slowly calmed, his ravaged breaths turning into simple inhales and exhales. 

“I’m sorry.. I’m sorry…” Leo muttered, but his body relaxed into the hands. The presence of his brothers was more than enough to calm him down. 

“Sorry? What did you do?” Donnie questioned, his tone flat but not devoid of care. 

“I let you down, I let everyone down. I’m not going to be able to lead the team anymore, I can’t even be part of the team. I’m useless..” Leo admitted, his eyebrows pulling together in frustration. 

“Hm.. Are you sure about that?” Donnie sassed back, causing Leo to lift his head just enough to glare at Donnie. 

He was used to bickering, picking, biting. He was used to it. But Donnie was taking it too far. That smug smirk on his stupid, dumb face made his fists clench. 

Mikey giggled on his other side, followed by Raph’s shushing. “Be nice, stop laughing-”

“What is so goddamn funny about me being paralyzed? Likely permanently??” Leo barked out, looking between his brothers. 

The door to his room opened and footsteps followed as April came in with a mug of.. Coffee? Leo looked to her, trying to pull his most pathetic face. But her eyes were wide, a smile coming to her face and he knew he was betrayed once again-

“Look at you! I didn’t realize you could close your fist again!”

Leo froze, his own face turning into a mirror of shock. Slowly, his eyes shifted down to look at his right arm. 

There, laying on the mattress, with no feeling. It was like it wasn’t even there… But his fist was closed. It was shaking, struggling to keep itself from falling open again, but it was moving. 

“Still giving up, fearless leader?” Donnie questioned. 

Leo’s grin grew, wobbly and just as stable as his fist. 

“Not a chance, Dee.”

commission for @vangh17a ...wnanderwr.... ououuagh....

Art Commissions are Open!

finally updated my art commissions post to include my full body prices!

more details under the read more

2 Arms Left Masterpost (Part 2)

(Part 1) - Main comic masterpost

(Part 3) - Crossovers and extra masterpost

Below the cut is just cannon little bonus drawings!

Forever gonna lose my mind at this part in the storyboard where Leo has this sad resigned smile on his face

(Versus the final version in the movie where we just see the fear in his eyes)

aghghghgh

I want an extended version of this movie SO BAD

hi yes im so normal about this story board that i redrew that screenshot

im so normal im so normal im so normal im so normal im so normal im so normal in so mormal

I don't have the words to explain how @intotheelliwoods 2 Arms Left au makes me feel

Ell, you don't understand how attached I became to these funky little guys. I cried at Monday's comic and have wanted to make something ever since

This came to me about half-way through the week and I've put basically everything on the backburner until I could finish this lol

Song: Say It (Itte) -English Cover- by Will Stetson

Thats it this post is an @kathaynesart appreciation post. Comment or reblog if you love and appreciate Kat and her work <3

Part 6!

Now chirping is actually their thing~

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