#family dysfunction

“Good Kid, Bad Kid”

Hey everyone! I decided to try my hand at TMNT 2012 art, so this is my first time trying to draw these guys but I was pretty happy with how it turned out. The Japanese translates to “Good Kid” on Leo’s side and “Bad Kid” on Raph’s side.

I genuinely love these two’s dynamic, like how each had struggles in this unhealthy family function but some were more hidden than others. For instance, yes Leo was favored by Splinter but he was also given the task of being like a father to his brothers and had to be willing to sacrifice himself at any point. Raph, on the other hand, was clearly known as the rebellious and impulsive brother and had to watch his father give Leo more attention along with the leader role, watching with envy from the outside in and not knowing the full picture—just knowing that he was hurt.

Both harmful roles to play, yet both hard for the other to understand.

Okay, I have another fic prompt that no one asked for but im sort of obsessed with. Forgive the pic, its one I threw together with Google pics to drive my idea. [ Also, I know that Ilya's niece is unnamed in the show but i kind of adore the name Ekaterina, not only does it end close to Irina, but it means pure and the short version (Katya or Rina) is too cute. ] So, if anyone is up for writing this please please please let me know because id love to read it. [ Also, I am not Russian so I did have to research the krestnye roditeli verbage and tradition for godparents, so the Kum is a godfather and that is what Ilya is to his niece in this drabble.]

Me, just calling to check in: Um.

Mom: Just she was SO unpleasant on my trip last week to see her and the boys

Me, aware that mom's previous trip my mom decided she wouldn't speak to or help my sister out with chores for the entirety of her stay, and that the trip before that she had several medical emergencies my sister had to take care of my mom later insisted weren't that big a deal: Uh-huh

Mom: And on my last day, she was so CURT. She [lawyer, about to be relevant] made me crepes before she went to argue her [LAWYER, RELEVANT, SO RELEVANT] case before [State] Supreme Court and she told me she didn't want to talk during breakfast! Can you imagine!

Me: Well I mean

Me:

My mother used to say she could not see her resemblance in me.

The only connection was the blood running through our veins,

she could only see my father.

I was so deluded.

I believed her to the core.

As a child I tried so hard to find any trace of her in myself.

Spent night after night dissecting every photo of us.

If I could find anything,

anything worth noticing,

it’d close the rift between us.

As I’ve grown, I finally see those fragments of me inside her.

Old photographs showcasing who I could be.

I laugh a little.

Those similarities I spend endless nights looking for are displayed so effortlessly.

The way our eyes light up when we smile

or how our bodies move to the rhythm of the music.

But she could not be bothered.

I don’t think it was intentional,

the way she rejected me like an organ transplant gone wrong.

She only knew how to love the way the trauma taught her.

Somewhere along the line she transformed me from her daughter to confidant.

Chose me to be her anchor the moment I noticed our family dysfunction.

Built a chest inside of my heart so I’d hold her burdens,

her heartache,

her regrets.

Always reminding me I am nothing like her.

I didn’t ask for any of this.

Mother of mine.

My greatest supporter but my worst enemy.

To love and to hate.

And the terrible thing of all that I don’t dare say out loud.