#rottmnt textposts

Because it's like: Raph spent so much of his life knowing that he could hurt someone if he got angry, that he had to restrain himself even in the most emotional moments, or he could be a danger to his own brothers. He couldn't let himself fully express his anger, not until he was alone.

Then the whole hero thing got started, and Raph started to build up a moral code. We see through the whole movie that he takes the hero role very seriously, putting in all his effort to protect others. Again, Raph couldn't let his anger win over, because it would go against his one goal of keeping others safe. Again, he couldn't let himself express his anger until he was alone.

But then, the instant Raph is alone, the instant he doesn't have to worry about hurting others, there's nothing to stop all that anger from bubbling up, from overwhelming all of Raph's other emotions all at once. Then, once the anger has got the best of him, that's when Savage Raph able to turn on his brothers; after he already got to his most emotional point.

Just. Savage Raph being something that goes against all of Raph's values. Anger being something that goes against Raph's values. All that anger building up over time, until it all boils over, during the only times when Raph isn't faced with the overwhelming fear of hurting someone else- the times when there's no one around for Raph to hurt.

After Leo's tragic death, Donnie builds a robot that looks just like Leo (like in all those fanfics). The twist? Leo's actual spirit possesses the robot.

At first, Leo's ghost can't do much. He's weak, and so the robot just follows its intended programming while Leo goes along for the ride. But slowly, as Leo gets used to his new existence, he learns to override the robot's AI, and basically use the robot as a new body. But, there's a problem.

Leo's brothers don't know that the robot is possessed. So when Leo starts to disobey the robot's programming, it causes issues. Donnie barely convinced the family to let him undertake this project, and now, his robot is getting far too invasive, clinging to it's "brothers" even when explicitly commanded not to. Of course, this is just Leo trying to interact with his family after being thrust into the spirit realm. But in everyone else's eyes, it's a weird and creepy robot, with faulty AI that can't understand boundaries.

Finally, Donnie has enough. The robot crosses a line, so Donnie takes it out into a sewer tunnel and destroys it, smashing it into scrap metal. The family is glad to be rid of the thing, which they began to see as a flawed coping mechanism. But Leo's spirit still clings to the robot.

And Leo is terrified. He doesn't understand what happened, or why Donnie would do something like that to him. Leo had been using the robot to live a second life, to speak and move freely, to talk with his family. And once Donnie destroys the robot, that is all ripped from him. Without a vessel to ground him in the mortal world, Leo is forced back into the spirit realm, separated from his brothers all over again, rejected by his family. And in his confusion, Leo gets angry.

Strange little things start to happen in the lair. People get calls that just play static, mystic powers fail more often than usual, Donnie's tech malfunctions. It's weird, but no one minds too much.

Then, one day, Donnie walks into his lab, to see Leo's robot, sitting on the table. It's perfectly repaired, to the extent that no one could even tell it was broken in the first place. It's eyelights are on, and it slowly looks up at Donnie.

"I hate you," It says in a perfect copy of Leo's voice. "I hate you."

Leo wants to talk with someone about the argument he just had with Raph? Well, Donnie might be a bit awkward with emotions, but he's sure a good listener. He gives very honest advice; he'll tell Leo when he needs to go apologise, but he doesn't judge Leo or pry on the situation. Donnie's very calm about everything, and Leo gets very comfy just confiding in him about things.

Raph needs to not be alone because Savage Raph is acting up? Donnie is consistently in his lab. Sure, Donnie kicks his brothers out a lot, but that's mostly when Leo drops by to annoy him. Raph doesn't annoy Donnie, he doesn't necessarily want any kind of touch or special attention. He just needs to be around someone sometimes, and Donnie is perfectly fine to provide that.

Mikey is anxious/worried about something? Donnie is great at rationalizing stuff! He can and will spend twenty minutes explaining why the things Mikey is anxious about will never happen. Plus, Donnie is... surprisingly good at managing stress? His "data collection" is basically just an easy way for him to ground himself. Donnie has little tricks for when things get Too Much, and Mikey starts to pick up on these habits/use them to make himself feel better.

At first, I think Donnie is kinda oblivious to this, but once he realizes what's happening, he starts leaning into it? Like, he starts paying more attention when Leo wants to talk with him about stuff, instead of constantly dismissing his brother. He notices that Raph will come to his lair nearing a Savage episode, so he sets aside simple tasks for Raph to distract himself and feel useful. He realizes that Mikey is imitating him, so he keeps track of which coping mechanisms Mikey finds helpful.

Idk man, it just feels right. Mikey thinks that this version of Raph is rude and needs to chill the hell out. Raph thinks that this version of Mikey is annoying, and his doctor personas are weird and patronizing. No one knows if they have some reason for disliking each other, or if it's just a clash of vibes, but they're always at eachother's throats.

Think about it: Future Leo is an adult. He's had time to process the whole Invasion, and while he still has a BARRAGE of issues/still hates himself for the invasion, I can't really imagine him taking it out on Leo. For one, he's probably INSANELY burnt out from the apocalypse, and so busy dealing with his own issues that he can't find the energy to bug his younger self. But also, he's a grown man, and on some level, I think he'd see that Present Leo is just a stupid teen. Future Leo has mentored teens Leo's age, he's seen horrors that Present Leo never will, and I feel like that would stop him from getting too mad with Present Leo, even if he doesn't realize why. If anything, I imagine that Future Leo hates himself for the Invasion more than he hates Present Leo, because he sees Present Leo as a kid, while conveniently ignoring the fact that he was that same age while the Invasion happened. At the end of the day, he doesn't really hate Leo, or really anyone in his life at all. He's just a tired man, who only wants a break from the hell he's been living in for more than half his life.