brightlotusmoon:

turtlefanforever:

All the turtles suffer from PTSD to varying degrees. Day in, day out, their world is one of depravation and survival. If they aren’t scavenging for food and supplies, they are fighting for their lives against Shredder, the EPF, and countless other enemies they’ve made along the way. When they aren’t struggling to live, they put themselves in danger for the sake of others and have seen some horrible things. Sometimes they get there too late. None of this goes away, especially when your “normal” is already bleak. They can’t go to a bar to blow off steam, or just sit in a park to watch the birds. What they’ve seen, what’ve they done, and what has been done to them haunts their every steps.

Leo:

He suffers from panic attacks, and his biggest fear is that he’ll have one in the middle of a fight with the Shredder right when his family needs him the most. So he trains relentlessly, both in body and mind, to compensate for what he sees as a fatal flaw in his character. Our poor leader in blue believes it’s all in his mind, and that if he were just strong enough, brave enough, just enough, he could get past the demons in his head and be the leader his family needs him to be.

Donnie:

Nightmares – horrible, twisted, tragic, and dark. He has an amazing memory that is both a blessing and a curse. He can observe, learn, and accumulate information far above average. He is a genius after all. His mind has saved his family numerous times, and he believes it’s his greatest asset. His identity is structured around his brain. But not all of what he sees or knows is good, and it simmers in his subconscious. Just waiting to drag him down into the abyss when his conscious mind lets down its guard. This is why he is such a workaholic and a coffee addict. Anything to stay awake. Anything to keep those shadows from swallowing him whole.

Raph:

Big Red feels powerless and helpless all the time. It’s why he’s so angry. Better to be a monster and destroy everything around you, than to be the victim that gets eaten. It’s also why he’s so empathetic. He knows what it’s like to feel vulnerable, and he’ll do anything to keep other people from feeling the same. When he goes overboard on patrols and starts smashing heads, it’s partly to alleviate his own feelings of insecurity. He may not be able to take out the sources of his anxiety, but he can smash their smaller mirrors. But no matter how much he works out, how bulky he gets, or how many bodies he breaks, it’s never enough to make him feel safe. He’ll never feel secure, because he knows the whole world is out to get him and his family.

Mikey:

Our little cinnamon roll is a pastry iced with manic depression. He just wants to love and be loved. He wants to experience all the amazing things the world has to offer, and firmly believes that all we need is love. Peace, love, and cupcakes sums up the youngest turtle. But that’s not what life is giving him or his family. Instead, he is always hungry, rarely sees the light of day, and has been beaten so many times he’s lost count. So he turns all of that unrequited love and unfulfilled dreaming on his family who become his whole world. When they hurt, he hurts. He would much rather take a beating from Raph, even if it hurts his body and breaks his heart, because at least Raph isn’t hurting. Making Donnie eat and Leo laugh are daily goals. Being the jokester and the life of the party isn’t about him, it’s about lifting up the people around him. But bearing the emotional responsibility for a whole family that is suffering while you are as well is impossible. So Mikey will have these extremes bouts of high energy in hopes that he can make everything okay, followed by extreme emotional lows that are debilitating. His brothers just think he’s being lazy or trying to get out of training, but some days Mikey doesn’t have the energy to even sit up. There have been a few times he’s been dangerously close to suicide, and the only thing that pulled him back was the thought of his family needing emotional support and him not being there.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA.

Also Me: YES TRAUMATIZE MY CHILDREN.