TMNT
Disclaimer: don't own.
A/N: My own personal view of the turtles, just because I can, and I enjoy stirring the pot.
To those who didn't know the Turtles their group dynamics seemed set in stone. Leonardo was the eldest, the leader, the one who brought them through various encounters without the loss of lives.
Raphael, the second son; the hothead; the vigilante; who drove head first into any situation without thought to the consequences.
Donatello, the third son, and the genius, creator of inventions, the quiet one who didn't make waves and sought only to improve his family's chances.
And finally Michelangelo, the youngest, the goofball, the resident comic relief, who you could always rely on for a good laugh.
If one did not know the Turtles these role's seemed concrete, unshakable.
But if one did know them, then a whole other world opened up before you.
One where Raphael was the oldest, the one each of the others looked to for protection, one they followed. Sure, Leo was the Leader, something that had stuck in Raph's nerves the second it was brought up, but in the end his brother's fell in line behind him when the time truly required it. It was to him they all came if there were nightmares or questions, not that he was always able to answer them, but they continued to come.
Leonardo was the second child; more level headed that Raph certainly, but without the passion and the certainty of his brother, lead to self doubts over his position as leader, a thing he himself could not understand as Raphael was the eldest and in his eyes the more deserving. But he needed to prove himself, all the time prove himself to his brother.
The role of the youngest was interchangeable between Donatello and Michelangelo, where Donnie was the most intellectually intelligent of the two, Mikey was the more emotionally grownup between them. So depending on the situation either one filled the role of the youngest. Though more oft than not they were referred to as simply 'The twins'.
They were not what anyone thought they were on the outside, which worked well for them. They were a family, and that was all that really mattered.
I suppose I could make this multi-chaptered. Just to explain my insanity, while watching the film and the new cartoon it struck me (more in the cartoon) that Raph is the one they call for if they're in trouble in a fight, or that he's the first one to notice they're in trouble and dives straight in to save them. So it made me think, what if Raph was the oldest; that would explain why he and Leo are at odds about it, and why Leo seems to doubt himself s much. Donnie and Mikey… well, if I can mess with Raph and Leo I can certainly mess with them.
Anyway, please review, and if you'd like me to write more, feel free to ask.