Totally Not Me Searching Up Random Quotes - Blog Posts

if you’re open to it, anything with lee 2012 leo?? thank you :3

YAY! I looove 2012 Leo, and I really hope I was able to do him justice! He is so traumatized, poor child.

THIS IS SET NEAR THE END OF SEASON 4! IF YOU HAVEN'T WATCHED PAST THAT POINT BE AWARE OF SPOILERS!!

Lee! Leonardo

Ler! Master Splinter

TW!: DEPRESSION, FEELINGS OF WORTHLESSNESS (Dw, things get better! 😘)

'Something is wrong with my boys.'

The sad realization hit Splinter with a harsh blow. His children, as he has noticed, didn't have the same spark in their eyes, the same lighthearted goofiness and child-like immaturity they once had- and hadn't for a while.

This was exceptionally noticable in his eldest son, Leonardo. After countless horrors and freakish battles, Leo's face had turned stony, and his personality dry. His brothers were in a similar state, though the grayness in the leader's face couldn't go unnoticed.

This had become more apparent when he had relocated his stack of 'Space Heroes' DVDs to his bedroom, and hadn't taken them out for weeks. All he did in his free time was train, lecture his brothers, or stare off into space, a dull look of shame in his eyes.

Splinter had noticed this, of course. Something so drastic in their energy was very hard to miss, but he had thought it as a maturity settling over them, rather than a deep numbness hanging over their heads.

Something had to be done.

Later that day, his boys had returned home, all irritable and tired. Leonardo had kept his swords on his back, seemingly preparing for another home invasion or something of the sort. They had all eaten, and were scattered about the lair until it was time to go to sleep.

The katana-wielding teen stayed seated on the couch, as he had for many nights, gazing into the distance instead of going to bed. Unbeknownst to him, however, his father was aware of his poor resting schedule, but had left him to his thoughts, knowing that the things he had seen took time to process.

Tonight, though, the turtle seemed more melancholic, picking at the skin of his finger as he sighed. Yoshi peered from the dojo, sensing the upset radiating off of him, and knew he had to act now, before his son's condition grew worse. He stepped out into the wide space of the common room and cleared his throat as to not startle the younger.

"My son, what troubles you?" It seemed his efforts to be unthreatening were futile, as Leo had nearly jumped out of his shell, scrambling to grab his swords with a yelp. Splinter's expression darkened at this, but he was quick to give reassurance.

"It is alright, Leonardo. You are safe." The turtle's shoulders relaxed, and he voiced his relief. "Oh, it's just you, sensei. I'm fine, don't worry about me." His dad shook his head, making his way over to his son and sitting beside him, ears pressed to his head in concern.

"You have given me reason to worry, I am afraid. You and your brothers seem so disturbed, so I thought I would confront you about it." Well, that sure caught him off guard. Leo shrugged, struggling to hold eye contact as he muttered an explanation. "I'm just tired. We all are."

At the quirked brow of his rat father, his walls crumbled.

Leo sighed. "We've just seen so many things.. Things we can't unsee, unhear, or unlive, for that matter." he shook his head sadly. "It makes things hard, Sensei. Really hard."

Splinter's gaze softened. He should have guessed. His children, very early in their years, had seen more than he had in his entire life. They'd been across the world, the universe, heck- they'd even been to different dimensions and stopped wars. It was no wonder they were so void.

Yoshi's heart ached for his child, and he held his arms out to him, which, after a moment of shock and hesitation, was accepted. The eldest son let out an uneven breath, and closed his eyes, enjoying the physical affection he did not receive very often. "I love you, Leonardo, and I am proud."

That sure got the tears flowing. Next thing he knew, the rat father held his weeping turtle son in his arms, holding back tears himself. He rubbed the young boy's scarred shell, allowing him to express himself after putting on a brave face for his family for so long.

Eventually, the teen's tears ran out, and his tight grip on his father's kimoto loosened. The overburdened turtle wiped his eyes, standing from his spot on the couch, followed closely by Splinter. A worried look crept onto his face again. "Sensei, what if I can't protect them.. What if I'm not good enough..?"

"Hmph." His father cut him off before he could spiral into a 'not good enough' mindset. He thought for a moment, eventually asking a question. "Leonardo. A wise man, who I believe went by the name of Ralph Emerson, once said, "The best lightning rod for your protection is your own spine.". What do you think he meant by this?"

Leo blinked, and pondered for a moment, repeating the words to himself until he decided on an answer. "Huh. Well, I know a lightning rod is supposed to protect homes from lightning, and.. I guess our spine represents ourselves as an individual, and it supports us.. I- I guess it could mean that we need to face some things on our own.. and be our own protection!"

He looked up hopefully, and was rewarded with an impressed smile. "Very good, Leonardo. So as you have said, there are some things that you cannot rely on others for, and so they are not responsible for you in that time, yes?"

Understanding flooded over Leo, and he bowed. "Hai, Sensei. I get it now. I cannot worry about my brothers all the time, or they will fail to grow and learn on their own."

"Wehell, you certainly can worry about them. What do you think I do most of the day?" Splinter chuckled. "No, but you must not intervene and take control of their lives in a way that jeopardizes their independence."

The leader in blue smiled, performing another respectful, albeit smaller bow, and listened to more of his father's intel. Well, at least it seemed like intel at first.

"One last thing. There is another saying I know of, this one relevant to young leaders such as yourself.." The smaller looked intrigued, not taking notice of the unusually playful glint in Splinter's eyes, and hardly suspecting a thing when he knelt down to his level to speak. He did however, find himself concerned with the fact that in a blink of an eye, he had been flipped over and lied back down on the couch, his legs under the weight of a 6-foot mutant rat.

Seeing his son so unhappy over the past few months, mental health at a clear decline, had concerned Splinter greatly. He was so used to the bright smiles he wore, and his efforts to be a great leader, though it became more apparent that the latter was overtaking his mind, and he planned to stop that constant strive to be perfect, at least for a little while. "Laughter cures all."

Before the turtle could gasp out a question as to why this was happening, or better yet, what was happening, sharp claws were gently dragging down his plastron. Leo squealed, practically convulsing as soon as the fingers made contact.

"GAHahaha! S-Sensehei, whahahat?-" Leo was in shock. His father, who had so scarcely given approval, or physical affection, had not only hugged him, but had him pinned underneath himself and was tickling him.

It didn't matter whether he processed it or not, as Splinter had dug under his arms, leaving him to screech in mirth, gravelly voice straining with giggles. His father only smirked at him, glad to hear laughter coming from someone who needed it so much.

As young children, the turtles had played various games, chase being one of the most common, and discovered the concept of being 'ticklish' when their father had caught them, picking each up respectively and squeezing their sides a few times before carrying on with the game. After that, they went on a craze, chasing each other around and exploring tickle spots, an activity that carried on throughout the years.

Splinter had found it adorable, watching with a soft look on his face as his children tussled, and was glad to see that over time they hadn't grown out of such a lighthearted thing. It became rarer, yes, but they had something to do that showed they were still just kids, despite their mutated bodies and home in the sewers.

Over the years, as Splinter had noticed, it became obvious that the oldest son was the most sensitive, to which his brothers took great joy in exploiting. A poke to the side was enough to get him giggling, and Yoshi had had to take precautions to ensure that this wasn't used against him during training after losing five times in a row because of it.

A loud snort from the teen pulled him out of his thoughts, a growing pink tinge on his face clashing greatly with his green complexion. Splinter chuckled, using one hand to scribble into his son's neck, clawed fingers proving to be an advantage when he quickly tried to duck his head down, then throwing it back in loud giggles when the back of his neck was targeted.

"My son, I don't believe there is anything funny here. I ask that you explain what you are laughing about." Leo tried to reach up to grab onto his father's wrist, but a taze to his ribs left both of his arms uselessly pressed against his torso, trying to wrap them around himself to protect his more ticklish spots.

His ankles dug into the cushions beneath them, unable to squirm away from the offending fingers as they slid past his defenses, scratching along his belly. "Sehehensei, I- EEK! IHI CAhahan't!"

Splinter smiled fondly down at his child, taking notice in how little he actually tried to stop him, clearly needing to get out of his head for a while. Leo jolted up for a moment, curling over his father's hands before tearing his arms away from himself, opting to grip at the pillows of the couch. He tossed his head to the side, lost in giggles.

Yoshi raised his eyebrows, thoroughly amused at how he opened himself up. He scribbled over the expanse of his plastron, resulting in louder and more frantic giggles. "Oh? Leonardo, are you trying to tell me something?" He tapped at the exposed cartilage of the turtle's sides, having to pause for a moment before continuing, as the boy screeched, flinching away in reflex, before falling into cackles.

"NAHAHAHAH! FAHATHER- AHA! PLEHEASE, IHI-" Words were failing him, barely able to articulate anything before being interrupted by his own snorting. Not that he was trying to protest, or anything. In reality, he was having the time of his life, forgetting his troubles and getting the chance to laugh.

Sure, the gentle tickling was driving him up the wall, but he was enjoying himself. Still, after a couple minutes, his eyes began to droop, still quietly giggling to himself. Splinter took notice of this, and gave him one last squeeze to the sides, before picking the worn out teen up, cradling him as he had many years ago, and brought him to his room.

After gently settling him onto his bed, Yoshi covered the nearly-passed out form with his blanket, and softly held his shoulder. "You are a wonderful leader, and your brothers and I love you."

His consciousness slipping away, Leo responded in a quiet tone. "Thanks.. Father. Love 'ya guys too.." And with that, he fell asleep, a warm smile on his tired face.

Yippee, the sillies! 💙 💙 💙 This is longer than I thought it would be, but I'm not mad! Thank you all for your support, and I hope you enjoyed!