Greatly enjoyed this. I'm not familiar with 2012 verse but this scene would also go great in the original movie, the morning all four of them appeared to Casey/April and said "it's time to go back." Very nice scene-setting here, some great adjectives but in shorter paragraphs so it flows nicely, not cumbersome to read. It makes sense that Donnie's anxiety would be his kryptonite...if he knows the scientific odds of a mission's success, then he's not going to be as optimistic about it as his brothers. This reminded me that, while Leo and Raph fight constantly, Leo can't be a purely obnoxious individual or he would fight with Mikey and Donnie too. Leo wisely uses Donnie's clinical language to both validate his feelings and challenge his defeatist thinking, culminating with a simple mountain metaphor that Donnie can hold on to amidst the chaos. I see why this story won an award.

Hehe I really liked this one-shot, it was perfect!

This was sweet. I love Leo and Donnie fluff moments. And I agree that Donnie would be the most skeptical about their experiences in the woods.

Beautiful visuals, love the little details too, Leo being shorter than Donnie, Donnie's reflection in his cup... and you're right Leo would embrace the quest and Donnie would ponder it more. I love his fixation on the board, right up to when he made up his mind to let it go. If you think about the ending is on point because of course who gets to finish a conversation when you have three brothers?

Indeed Donnie would have the hardest time accepting something that is heavily spiritually based, like a vision quest.

Oh yes, I agree. I think it would entirely be in Donatello's character to be very skeptical of anything smacking of mysticism. And I think it's nice to have that juxtaposed against Leo's natural spirituality, which stems in part, from his utter devotion to his sensei and his sensei's teachings. Donatello is a more, um, independent thinker, if you will. More apt to question and demand proof, imo. This was a solid light piece! (hm, no lack of oxymoron in that statement!)

I think you did a great job with exploring how Donnie to be weirded out by his experience in Spirit Quest. You're right, I think he'd be the least likely one of the four to take it as it came, despite the differences, whether they be physical, emotional, psychological, or spiritual that he took away from the experience.

I think the ending was awesome! Great job. I loved it :D

Another nice story from you! I really like this little look into how Donnie and Leo would react to the spirit quest differently - it really suits them both. I think you handled them both perfectly, and I loved Donnie obsessing over the plank of wood. Great job! :)

Okay, first of all, hooray for Leo/Donnie brotherly fluff! There just aren't enough of those in fanfictions! You have thorough captured Donnie's insecurities and doubts that all stem from his skeptical and logical persona. The whole plank board symbolism was a wonderful touch and really drove home how Donnie perceives things. He's a planner, a thinker, a perfectionist. Anything irregular or unplanned makes him nervous because its out of his element. Sometimes concepts like this are hard to express in writing, but I think you did a nice job opening up Donnie's head and giving us a glimpse inside. Everything from the plank tirade to Donnie's hurt expression after Leo told him he's still thinking too much...it all points to Donnie's current insecurity of the unknown when they return to New York.

It's nice to see big bro Leo so in touch with his brother's small quirks and mannerisms. Nice touch having Leo reiterate the mountain analogy, because although Don is pretty steadfast in his practical thinking, his thoughts in faith and hope leave much to be desired.

And this story wouldn't be complete without some good old Mikey and Raph shenanigans! Good insertion to break up the emotional feels going on, lol.

I think your ending is nice, but I understand what you mean, you feel like there should be that one line that really brings that 'umpf' of a ending, right? lol. Maybe mentioning the mountain analogy in a little more detail as it relates to Donnie might help it end with a bit more power, when Donnie's says "Bring it on, New York." (by the way, that is a great final line!)

Again, I truly enjoyed this story and will be adding it to my faves! XD I almost missed this story, which is completely unacceptable. You will be promptly added to my author alert as well!

Keep the awesome stories coming!

Poetique

Awww, what a great moment between these two. Very well done.

You did fine with the ending, but I can understand where you're coming from as I've felt that way myself sometimes. I think this story is great though and I do agree that Leo is the best one to tell Donnie what to do. He's right in that we can't let things hold us back and that we have to move forward. And trust Mikey to want to prank Raph like that. Nicely done on this.

The Bubbly One,
Shell

Awesome story! I love your writing style and the plot! Keep writing

I enjoyed the talk. Leo's really good at these sorts of inspirational speeches.

However, and this may just be a knee-jerk reaction on my part, I don't think the scene with Raph and Mikey really added anything to the story. You could have just had it finish peacefully; have Leo and Donnie just head in for breakfast or even have that noise inside the house and finish the story with them going inside to start a normal morning and break up the fight. You could even have said something like, "We may not know what's waiting in New York, but I'll bet Mikey's being chased by Raph right now." Just to illustrate that some things don't change.

Even so, I liked this mostly tranquil interlude.