#I might make a serie of it with Donny's and Raph's version

[liya4kar]

Mind'O Wave doodle that I ended up coloring because. Yeah.

AU Masterpost

[theladyheroine]

Characters for the New TMNT 🐢

❥ Hello everyone! So this will be similar to my previous Kingdom Hearts posts where I’ll try to predict a few things for the future! It’s just for fun but I hope you guys enjoy! 💚

⚠️ Also quick warning, there are spoilers for the Mutant Mayhem movie & the Tales of the TMNT on Paramount! ⚠️

Casey Jones - Okay, so I understand there was a scrapped concept art for Casey Jones from the Mutant Mayhem movie. But whether Casey ends up being a boy or a girl, I really wanna see their friendship again! They always have good chemistry together, & I can imagine them meeting if Raph tries out for the hockey team at school! Jones is like the best player on the team so Raph has some beef. 😅 Not intentionally but I can see a rivalry happening (lol).

Karai - This was more of a what if moment but since the Shredder will likely appear in the sequel movie, Karai would be like one of those characters that turns good in the end. Likely because she never wanted to serve the Foot Clan in the first place. It would also be cool if she went to the same high school as the main cast, either before or at the end of the film.

Slash - This character was also what if moment, since Slash is usually a small villain. But I really like what the 2012 TMNT did, making him a hero during his arc! I feel if he did show up in MM universe, I can see him being a bit of an antihero at first? Or some kind of mutated crook before agreeing to help the turtles out.

Mona Lisa - Raph’s love interest I feel was pretty underrated until the 2012 version put their own spin on things! She’s one of my favorite characters & I’d love to see her again! For this version, I would like to see a human design since we haven’t seen that before! But then she gets mutated later on & perhaps that can be a new story in the future? With humans getting mutated too at some point.

The Rat King - So, I’m actually not so sure for this one? I know Splinter was the Rat King temporarily during the Tales of the TMNT show. But I did see a post, unfortunately I can’t remember where 😅🙏, but someone said that Bad Bernie might end up being mutated? I can see that, especially since he already looks like a rat or mouse. And he did come back after the East River 3 Arc.

Miyamoto Usagi - Okay this was a lot tougher than I thought. 😅 I understand Usagi is like from an alternate dimension usually? And for a funny spinoff series, that could still work? But maybe more on the science-style of things rather than the magic side? Like maybe TCRI makes a giant portal & the turtles get sucked into it. Landing in Usagi’s dimension by accident!

Venus de Milo - I have yet to see the 90s movies but I’m still a big fan of Venus de Milo! She is so cool & I feel she’s a good contrast to the boys. I’m not sure if she’d be related to them or not, but we can stick with the cousin thing for now. Anywho, for her backstory, I feel maybe she was another experiment from Baxter Stockman? Or maybe TCRI who wanted to recreate his project but she escapes! And meets the turtles!

Irma Langinstein - So I only know Irma from the 2012 version of TMNT, but if she were introduced into MM I feel there’s a lot of cool stuff she could do! Maybe she’s a human friend April makes or she’s some kind of ninja turtle fan girl (lol)! But so far I’ve seen people portray her as a super smart kid & becoming best friends with Donnie, which I like!

[yzafre]

Rise Magic Watch - Fists of Furry, The Clothes Don't Make the Turtle

The April-Splinter dynamic in this show is highly entertaining, and also just. Fascinating. She seems to have a better relationship with him than his kids do, and I can't help but wonder how that played out.

That being said: weird yokai komodo dragon.

Or as Leo puts it, "some kind of venomous yokai pet or something."

The venom seems to give you a power up... at a cost. The leakage of the yokai world into the human one is constant and messy.

But now for the meat of this posts: The Clothes Don't make the Turtle. SUCH a fun episode to watch, but also. The Implications.

Let's cover Hypno's abilities in this episode first.

So, this is an interesting expansion on what goes on with his illusions. Sound based - but the sound continues playing... inside their heads? Inside the shared illusion/mind-control? The fact that you can shut it off by finding/destroying the source of the hypnosis-sound is interesting, too. You'd think he'd make that thing indestructible.

Then, there's the fact that when it fade they're revealed to have been inside a room the same size as the "clothing store" they were in is interesting to me. When Hypno gets trapped at the end, you see him standing still in reality after moving around in the illusion - but there's just enough room here the turtles could have been actually moving the way they were inside the illusion without bumping into anything.

...the sitting on the couch might have been an issue, though.

Additionally!

"Did you learn the power of self-love in order to break free?"

First: Mikey was right. Second: ...there was an actual break-out clause included in his illusion??? Why would he? Do you think that's just... how the magic has to work, or something?

I've mentioned before that magic is very conceptual in this series, so it would be interesting if your "spells" have to work within the rules of the conceptual frame-work you're crafting them in. He created an "80s movie makeover montage" - likely watched those kinds of movies himself - and so had to follow the rules of the trope. Just a theory, but it would fit the vibes I've been picking up off his magic in the past and makes for some interesting world-building opportunities.

What I also enjoy is that his defeat - while sudden - isn't a total ass-pull. Well, Donnie having it recorded kind of is, but... we've known since Hypno Part Deux that his hypnotism can be embedded into a recording - that is not a new aspect of how his powers work. This just adds that he's not immune to his own magic.

All of that's interesting! But now. About those journals.

Magic circle magic circle magic circle. Magic. CIRCLE!!!

I have SO many questions about Houdini (and the entire stage-magic industry) in this world, what the fuck.

I mean. Look at that! First off, while the book started opening/glowing just from Hypno brandishing it, the circle appeared after a chant - "soizon hoizon", to the best of my listening ability. the effect being the world flipping into crazy-version.

But that circle!!!!

The color + squiggle writing reminds me of the circle used to get Mayhem out of the mirror, but the half-moons in the border call back to the circle the "Council of Heads" used. And the star in the middle is entirely new!

It's significantly less complex than the "escape the mirror" circle as well, but perhaps the addition of verbal components makes up the difference? He continues to recite spells from the book throughout the chase. Now, these are... I couldn't quite understand what he was saying, for all of them.

"Pastour reina" was the clearest - trapping Raph inside the playing card.

I couldn't understand the one for Donnie at all, though it seemed to summon copies of Hypno for a curb stomp.

With Mikey it was "Galli ????", which kicked off the little slap-stick popping out of things routine.

In any case.... spell books exist, and you can learn magic from them. And this can/will involve spell circles Confirmed. Officially. Like it's right there, actually in the text, I've been picking up the clues right the whole time I'm so happy.

Anyways, to close, this thing is back:

I'm sure that won't be a problem any time soon.

[puma-or-cougar]

Hello there fellow tmnt artisan! Tis I, an eldritch overlord here to claim your soul. In order to prevent said soul theft you must answer one specific question:

How do you think each of the turtles expresses their affection?

Omggg, noo my poor soul (I sold it a while ago for a Donnie 12 plushie, so...)

Well, we're talking about the 2012 version, right? Because it's the one I've seen the most. I think that:

1. Leo- Leo would probably like to share his hobbies with the people he loves, for example, watching space heroes, training or meditating. Apart from protecting them and offering them tea to cheer them up.

2. Raph- Raph... Well, you can't say that Raph is affectionate with those he loves, unless he sees them in a romantic way (He's always kissing Monalisa), but he has given one or another hug, advice or helped one or another character in the series to vent.

3. Donnie- He is affectionate, he doesn't dislike explicit displays of affection like Raph, although I've noticed that he tends to receive affection (Hugs or pushes from his brothers) instead of giving it (Unless he's in love). Except for that time when Leo almost died in space and Donnie hugs him so softly, it was fucking cute. On the other hand, he builds things to make life easier for the people he loves.

4. Mikey- No one can deny that Mikey wouldn't try to cook things for the people he loves, even if they might not be entirely edible (? Also, I think he would make jokes, give hugs and kisses, damn, he's the typical cockroach person (said in a good way) who can't keep his hands off you. I love him

I hope that was satisfactory and that my English was understood :^)

(old draw)

[fabuloustrash05]

Some of My TMNT Hot Takes (PART 2) 🔥

Warning: More Opinions

Part 1 Here

I don’t like that in Mutant Mayhem Donnie is not a “science guy” but instead is more of an anime and pop culture geek. I’m not against him being an anime fan (I love anime too) but I wish we saw more of his science and being a tech genius side instead of him just liking stereotypical “nerdy stuff”. If that makes sense.

I don’t like the Punk Frogs (any version).

The 87 crossover episodes in the 2012 series (as much as I did enjoy them & are great episodes) should not have happened. They leave no real impact or development to 2012’s overarching story and just waste time. These episodes could’ve covered more important things that 202 was desperately lacking like like character exploration and character dynamic development. It was just nostalgic fanservice. The arc in S5 specifically would’ve work better as a movie instead of a 3-4 episode arc in the (most likely non canon) final season.

Shinigami being Mikey’s second love interests ruins her character a bit (for me personally). That was a pointless decision that did NOT need to happen. She would’ve been our first recurring female character to not be a love interest, but nope!

People are allowed to like/ship Donnie x April in ROTTMNT (this is coming from someone who’s not crazy about April being shipped with the Turtles).

I ship Yuichi with 2012 Leo more than Rise Leo (still ship Rise Leoichi, but I just think 2012 Leoichi is way more interesting, plus 2012 Leo deserves a good love interest).

The humans in Mutant Mayhem look ugly af (I know that was probably an intentional design choice but still. It looks bad.)

I hate Raph x Casey (any ver). I’ve stated in part one that I don’t like Raph (any version) being in a romantic relationship with human characters and yes, that meant him with Casey. Not only that but Raph and Casey being a couple ruins their whole dynamic and iconic friendship I love so much. I’m all for friends to lovers but they are a line that should not be crossed. Not every friendship needs to turn romantic.

2012 Karai’s hair looks bad.

Fans often over exaggerate Rise Donnie’s character and badly mischaracterize him in fanfics and fan comics to the point it makes him feel like he’s an entirely different character.

Shinigami should have been revealed to be a villain.

Rise Donnie was just as mean to his brother as fans claim 2012 Raph was to his. Yes, they both do love their families and I’m NOT saying either of them are abus!ce (they’re not), but fans praising Rise Donnie for doing similar things fans criticize/hate 2012 Raph for doing just makes them hypocrites.

Venus does NOT need to be in every iteration of TMNT. It gets kind of annoying when fans keep on saying that she should be in all the other iterations when in truth her presence would not make sense based on the already established canon story. The only (recent) version of TMNT where I think her being included would’ve fit the best and deserved to make her comeback in is ROTTMNT.

The side plot of 2012 Karai being mutated and later getting brainwashed by Shredder was a waste of time and the most boring arc in the series.

2012 April, Donnie and Casey being in a poly relationship does not fix anything with their problematic dynamic and massive flaws with one another. I'm not saying you can't ship all three of them together, you do you! Idc But in reality their relationship would be a train wreck, that's why I personally don't ship 2012 Capriltello.

Renet is probably one of the most powerful allies the Turtles have in the 2012 series.

Rise Donnie would NOT hate 2012 April. He’d go crazy over her psychic powers and want to study them to help her explore them more.

From what I've seen so far, Leo x Usagi seems like the only GOOD ship in the 2003 series (this hot take might change tho).

Raph had the best character arc and development in the 2012 series and changed the most out of the four brothers. Next would be Leo. With Mikey and Donnie have little development (or none at all sadly).

[my-name-is-bunnyfoxy]

I CAME BACK FROM THE MOVIE LIKE AN HOUR OR SO AGO- AND HOLLY CRAP- Here is some stuff I will say and I'll give my review at the end.

I love how to movie doesn't waste time and immediately jumps straight into action and also the backstory of it's soon to be main villain.

The designs are really nice I like them a lot. They are nice to look at. Maybe for some it might take a while to get used to but their decent at best.

I enjoy that right when we are introduced to the turtles they don't waste time showing their personalities.

This movie's angst inspiration definetelly came from the fandom lmao

like bro they just threw a bunch of angst in there.

Speaking of angst, I like how they immediately establish how much the turtles genuinely wanna be accepted into humanity and how they don't hold back on making sad scenes.

I don't mind Leo's crush. It's cute and I like how it's depicted. It's not that focused on which I don't really mind. I don't know where I sit with MM Aprilnardo, I'll wait until the series drops or we get a sequel and see what happens. If nothing happens between the two then I guess I won't be too hard into it. Unless maybe we see April and Leo both sharing feelings or something. Though if April politely rejects him I'll leave it at that. Again I still don't know where to sit with this ship.

Splinter is cool and funny. Also- we don't talk about that scene with him and scumbug-

The backstory for the characters is sad and I like how you can genuinely sympathize with them and it's not forced or anything.

I-I-I-I-I-I had to look away at the Puke scenes and the make out scene- Yeah I did get second hand embarrassment with this movie-

I enjoy how cringey it is- Like I get second hand embarrassment and yet it's funny to me-

MondoMikey shippers DNI. They are cousins in Mutant Mayhem.

I love how the movie's style is that of 87 and take more inspiration from the 87 version though to me the personalities for the characters were a mixture of rise and 2012 with some inclusion of 87 as well.

I actually watched this movie in my language not the english one. Sadly I didn't record any of the scenes so I can't show it to ya'll. :( Mainly cause I assumed it wasn't allowed to be recorded.

Shocked I didn't cry at certain scenes-

I enjoy that each character shines in his own way and all of them manage to do so.

Don't lay a finger on Leo... I will bite your legs off...

Sadly me and my papa didn't stay until the cliffhanger but I watched it on YouTube though.

The animation kind of seems messy but I do feel like it's something a little kid would design and considering this is a kids movie and all it's understandable. Though it gives us a lot of funny expressions xp

Story is unique, fight scenes really fun and amazing, the ending felt deserved and overall I enjoyed it.

Now, I know Superfly is a villain and all but if I'm gonna be honest- He didn't deserve death. I wish he got a redemption arc. He's just a broken villain who I ended up sympathizing and understanding. Yeah he wasn't doing the right thing but can you blame him?

Off topic but what gender is Leatherhead-? I kind of got confused ngl lmao

So in my opinion, it's either 8.5 or a 9/10. Mainly because there are some cringey scenes that I did cringe at and ngl I feel like certain scenes's pace was kind of a bit too fast. I don't know really-

BONUS: My papa's thoughts on the movie:

Found it cringe and stupid

He prefers the old TMNT

Prefers it when they stick to the shadows rather then go to high school

He thought Splinter was stupid and how he said the old one was a 'badass mothefucka'. His words not mine.

He prefers when Leo is really serious and calm, Raph a hot head and constantly wanting to smash things, Donnie being calm and smart and Mikey- Mikey he didn't mind since he said he is always stupid and a dumbass- (not really his words but close enough-)

He found the story not to be that really consistent and also the animation to him wasn't fluid. He didn't think it was the best or that good.

The story is interesting to him and unique and all though.

Don't hate my papa pretty please-

He pretty much grew on the 87 and OG comics. He kind of also probably had to deal with watching with me and my bro the TMNTs we grew up with. If anyone's curious, my bro grew up on the 2003 and kind of also 2012 since we both binged watched it a lot every time we came back home from school meanwhile I grew up on the 2012 but also in a way with 2003. Mainly since I have a few memories of seeing some episodes of it so I know some stuff.

Anyway- his score is a 6/10 for the movie and he says that is a VERY generous score.

Extra add in:

I realized my outfit looked similar to April's- Just- it had different colors and- I'm white as fu- Loved April a lot in this movie by the way.

I watched it with 3D glasses.

They were also selling masks of the TMNT. I only saw Raph, Mikey and Donnie but not Leo. I didn't buy one by the way-

I annoyed my dad with how much I was jumping and kicking my feet around.

And yeah that's all-

Loved the movie, I enjoyed it, I hope ya'll have enjoyed it as well and yeah!

[mxalmighty]

I will die on the "Rise Raph Stoner" hill; dude has a bear named Cheech and loves smooth blues, i don't condone it to underaged brains but we're not here for D.A.R.E. we're here for turtles; more below the cut but the quality varies from very rough sketches to pencil colors

Behold, a dump. I might describe some things so scroll through to see that. Directly below, blurple with insert OC Birdie and xLeo offspring. This was definitely a baby fever series of doodles, I stand by my cringe.

Krang!Hybrid Birdie and a sneaky glimpse at post-krang!birdie Donnie with a fresh scar from Birdie's new venom. Same universe as the above baby fever doodles, but a separate timeline.

Random birdie x donnie doodle, an uncooked donnie, happy 1.5cm boys (I measured, raph is technically 1.6cm while mikey is 1.1cm), some half-colored shell studies on some undercooked boys and...

Fully trained ninja!Birdie (indigo version lmao for that blurple setting)

Blurple birdie scenarios; 1) Birdie, Leo and Donnie (not tcest) the 'morning after' that outs their polyship to Mikey and Raph / 2) the scenes leading up to the resolution of the polyship drama, Leo and Birdie *(drawn human here post-topside date with a broach) being 'caught' cheating (B's with -just- D at this point) and the twins thusly apologizing to Birdie for their own reasons--- and a birdie timeline where B ends up with Raph; whether that's a haremship scenario or just solo with raph, well, it could honestly be either i've drawn this dog in both scenarios watchmegooooo

Most recent art featuring color designs in my own style, or, the way I'm likely to draw them now that I've seen others succeed in their own realistic turtle designs so it's not gonna be some sort of shameful display in this fandom i still feel fairly new in

holy heck did someone actually make it to the text at the end? thanks ;-; that's actually cool to think someone read more on this to see my paper scraps ty ty pls feel free to comment or like i'm not really posting these for reach but it's nice to know you've seen (and maybe liked) anyway~

[calliopechild]

I’ve been curious about your thoughts on Raph, since Leo is your favorite. I know you’re also a fan of Rise, 12, and 03, so I thought I’d ask what you think of Raph in those series as well.

Ha, yeah, I've never exactly been subtle about who my favorite is. 💙🐢 But I do love Raph as well. (I mean, I love all of the boys, really.)

For me, 03 Raph is The Raph of all time. The OG version (for me, at least, since I never saw the 87 version) and my favorite. I think the writers/producers really nailed it with his blend of anger issues and the way he struggled with them, the way he loved so fiercely, and his soft side (Lone Raph and Cub, Raph and his adopted blind grandma, etc). His headbutting with Leo is I think one of the healthiest too, very closely followed by Rise, because yeah he wanted to do things his way, but a lot of his clashing with Leo was about making Leo justify his choices rather than just 'no because no' kind of obstinancy. Like that "As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another" quote? That's their relationship to me. I also love the complexity of Raph's constant desire to do and see more and have parts of his life that are his own, set against the way he can't imagine not being with his brothers or being there to watch their backs.

To be honest, 2k12 is probably my least favorite of the three series (writing choices, the way they seemed to keep repeating some of the same character arcs, the whole...Donnie + April +Casey thing), but there are still some things I like, including how Raph and Leo had the same rivalry but tempered with the 'A Team' camaraderie. 12 Raph is probably my least favorite--I feel like they leaned too much into some of the archetypal Raph characteristics (attitude, picking on his brothers) and not into the ones that made 03 so great and fleshed-out (softer side and his willingness to show it). That being said, I am aware that like with Rise, 12 leaned more into the "teenage" part of TMNT and the associated lower levels of emotional maturity for all of them. But I did like that 12 Raph got the taste of leadership he always asked for and was blunt about how much he didn't want it.

Which is a perfect segue into Rise! In the interest of honesty, I didn't check out Rise until the movie sucked me in because the sheer differences--Raph as the oldest and leader rather than Leo, how different the personalities were--had me in a kind of 'idk whose turtles those are but they aren't mine' mood. But I am adult enough to admit that Rise did some really neat choices in how they tweaked the characters in ways that did divert them from the 03 templates but still kept the base characteristics AND the differences were ones that were logically explained by the differences in 03/Rise's backstories. And I'm a huge sucker for character work and psychology nature vs. nurture stuff, so that on top of an absolutely kickass movie meant I was toast, lol. But yeah, Rise Raph is a precious disaster (affectionate). He's gotta be so big to fit all those caring instincts as well as all his anxiety. In some ways I think he's a lot of what 03 Raph might have wished he could be--someone who mastered his anger a lot earlier (because he had to, given his size, or else he risked hurting his brothers), someone who had an easy and supportive relationship with Leo with no fights over leadership (until the movie, at least), someone who never felt like he had to hide his softer side.

But universally, I love that Raph has his own little shit moments in every iteration, I love that he is the first to protect his brothers but also the first to dunk on them if/when they beef it (which is every sibling's right), and I love that there are parts of himself that he struggles with but never stops trying to work on because fuck you, there is nothing he can't punch until it cooperates.

I could probably go on forever but if I don't stop myself here I'll start looking for specific episodes to back up my points like I'm back in English class, so tl;dr is: Raph is also a good bean whomst I love.

[darth-sonny]

💙 🎃

💙 – Top 3 Versions of Leo

oooooo let's go

Number One would have to be Rise Leo (love you boo, sorry for all the shit I pull on you), love how one change opened up a gateway into the speculation of what would be a Leo's personality if he wasn't the leader. old news, I know, but I was there when that change was made and that irreversibly rewired my braincells. so, yeah. Rise Leo is #1

Number Two would have to be 03 Leo. 03 is what introduced me to the TMNT universe, and 03 Leo has a special place in my heart

Number Three is 12 Leo. it's been a while since I've rewatched the 12 series, so I feel like this spot might change, but as of now, he's in #3

🎃 – Top 3 Favorite Headcanons

ooo this one

Trans Leo. transmasc, transfem, transneu, nonbinary. Trans Leo. full stop

The Sleep In the Day, Active During Night one. it's pretty tounge and cheek. It's pretty obvious, too, since every TMNT adventure happens at night, but I really like it. gives me a set time and doesn't make wonder about just how fucked up are their sleep schedules are

this one is something I made up, so I don't know if it counts, but. Weeb. Mutant Mayhem opened my eyes, so now I dully believe that in each iteration, there is one turtle who is just a full-on anime nerd. MM canonically has Donnie, Rise is most likely Raph (Mikey a close second), 12 is 100% Leo, and 03...... definitely Mikey. he has the vibes

🍰 – Favorite Dynamic Between 2 of the Turtles

Disaster Twins. hands down, the Disaster Twins. what makes this dynamic fun is that it isn't just reserved for Rise Donnie and Leo, but usually for any duo of turtles who are believed to be Twins and cause problems (either on purpose or by accident)

but yes, Disaster Twins all the way

[sewerpeaches]

The Answer to the Age Old Question:

Who is older, Donatello or Raphael?

The long answer that you didn't come here for is: it depends on the continuity. So you can find my breakdowns for each continuity here (eventually).

The short answer:

Donatello

Why?

#1. "Word of God" #2. IDW Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2011), volume 5 #3. Character/family/team dynamics #4. Aesthetics

~ 1 ~

For those unfamiliar with the term, the Word of God is "A statement regarding some ambiguous or undefined aspect of a work, the Word of God comes from someone considered to be the ultimate authority, such as the creator, director, writer or producer of a TV show / video game / film / etc."

With that in mind, Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird co-created Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in 1984. Unlike a fair amount of co-created series, TMNT is actually an evenly split brain-child (ie neither Eastman nor Laird seems to be any more responsible for or involved in its creation/production/etc than the other).

On August 14, 2014, Kevin Eastman stated "I'm going to take a bold step and say Donatello is older" during a Reddit AMA .

I couldn't find so much as a whiff of Peter Laird's explicit opinion on the matter (for all my searching... and there was a lot), but that also means that I never found him contradicting Kevin Eastman's statement. (More subjectively, Laird seems to have essentially directed the 2k3 run and I'll post my take on why 2k3 has peak little-brother Raph energy here (eventually))

At any rate, if you're the type of person who accepts the "Word of God" at face value, then continue no further! I, however, don't do that—hence why this is only reason 1 of 3 (4).

~ 2 ~

If you're not familiar with IDW Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2011) then read it, because it's phenomenal, it's the franchise's longest running piece of media ever and up until volume 100, original co-creator Kevin Eastman co-wrote the series and collaborated on page layouts. The much acclaimed Last Ronin, the first thing written by both Eastman and Laird since the original Mirage run, is set in the IDW-verse as its own version of SAINW.

The premise of the IDW run is that Splinter's and the Turtles' souls are reincarnated from those of a human family that lived in feudal japan (yes it sounds stupid, but it's touched on very little and is executed surprisingly well). And that means that the Turtles' corresponding human-selves are all visibly different ages (because unlike turtles, it's not so common for humans to have quadruplets).

So when we see the Turtles' human selves in volume 5...

It's clear in both appearance and mannerisms that Don is older than Raph.

They're definitely the closest in age of the siblings, but still most assuredly different ages.

Besides Raph being smaller than Don with shorter and chubbier limbs, his hairstyle also strikes me as more baby-like (kinda like the ancient version of the ponytail parent's give their 1 year olds when they don't have enough hair yet to actually do anything with). His mannerisms also lend themselves to that of a younger child—more sleepy, much more oblivious to his surroundings, and more clingy. Don's also shown to be able to stand, while Raph seems like he might not be able to yet.

~ 3 ~

This reason is subjective, which is why I've listed it last and need more space to elaborate on it. You'll find the unabridged version on my blog at some point under this tag (eventually), because I simply have Too Many Thoughts™ to contain within a post not dedicated specifically to it.

The short of it is: Donatello's character has always seemed to be designed around being second-in-charge—both in team and family contexts.

I don't think anyone would argue against the fact that Don is the go-to turtle. Doesn't matter what continuity you look at, when Leo anyone runs into a problem, they turn to Don.

You could argue that Donnie's the smart one and "so it only makes sense to turn to him to fix a problem" (and that's a bit of a catch-22 that I'll talk about in more detail in the unabridged version!). However... he's not a real person and so him being the smart one that characters always turn to when Leo falters (including Leo!) is a deliberate choice by the creators. And in the context of the The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle's very traditional operating style—with heavy emphasis on hierarchy by age, blood, etc.—it's very telling.

Were they a real family, yes, they would have developed their personalities/aptitudes mostly independently of their birth order, but given that specifically assigning children roles/ideals based on birth order is a significant player in Japanese culture (especially ancient Japanese culture which pertains to ninjitsu on which TMNT is based)... well... (I mean just look at how Splinter treats Leo).

Anyway, looking at the TMNT franchise as a whole, the advancement of the plot, in 9/10 cases, hinges on Don coming up with a solution either (1) via Leo coming up with something, pointing him in a direction, and asking "Don can you make [insane thing] work?" or (2) when Leo stalls entirely and Don has to take over. And though it's a formula, it's a formula with a million different permutations so it stays interesting.

Raph's role is to go into a berserker rage and brute force a second-wind powerup when when fighting is the only option. He's as the one who makes the first option work when Leo & Don are stuck and he has to, not the one who comes up with the second option. And, narrative-wise, it would be boring and lazy for the Turtles to only ever brute force plan A. (Happy to say I wrote this before I saw Laird say the same thing about Raph (bottom of #55))

That very distinct chain-of-command is why we get things like this, which is much more interesting and satisfying than beat-the-thing-until-it-stops:

The same follows in terms of family dynamics. Leo & Raph are simply too similar for the family to feel "balanced" if they're the two eldest brothers. There's no functionality in a family where 1 & 2 are providing nothing different or, worse, butting heads. Don holds the emotional stability of the family in the palm of his hand, largely just by existing as the buffer between Leo & Raph (we all know what happens in SAINW).

And, just from a characterization perspective, it seems much more natural for Raph to turn to Don for comfort than vice versa.

(Again, I'm gonna just... aggressively point to IDW.)

I'll go into this much more in the unabridged version, but I wanted to touch upon it here: setting Don aside for a moment, I see so many people argue for Raph being the second son based entirely upon his attitude towards Leo and ignoring everything and everyone else. It sorta drives me insane, tbh. I think it's a wildly shallow interpretation of his character.

Raph's entire hang-up is not around being second best, it's around being denied authority/autonomy in general—you know, stemming from being a mutant and being banned from doing 9/10 things he'd like to? That's why we see him fighting with Leo; Leo is the only authority he can fight (putting aside crime syndicate-type authority which he also fights obv). But more importantly, we also see him exerting as much power as he can by playfully, not cruelly bullying Mikey //glares at 2k12 (and in more source-compliant adaptations, yes, it is only Mikey that he truly messes with //glares harder at 2k12) or going off solo.

As much as I love 2k7, specifically the Leo/Raph dynamic, it's not actually a good representation of their real relationship—more of a spin-off "what if" (which Laird has also said). And 2k12 is ok plot-wise, but as far as I'm concerned it mostly fails at creating any compelling character dynamics and it crashes and burns in terms of staying true to source material. C':

~ 4 ~

Finally, I will end this post with my strongest argument for Don being second-eldest...

Sunset Aesthetic

[fyeah-tmnt]

9, 10, 13, 15 :))

(From, theblorboscalledtheturtles)

Hello friend!!

9. How much of the franchise have you seen/read?

Ok so it's a bit discombobulated, so i'll go one by one: Movies: Watched them all Series: 1987 is in progress, Did not watch next mutation (should i?) and i'm missing the last season (or last 2 seasons?) of 2003 In terms of games (because why not) I only played Shredder's revenge(PC), Wrath of the Mutants (switch) and turtle in time (Arcade). Though, i do have the Cowabunga Collection on switch which combine a lot of old games from TMNT and i should play them lol If i ever get my hands on the other ones i'll def play them too

10. Who's your favorite turtle? What's your favorite version of them?

This is such a tough choice. I honestly love them all so much for different reason. But i think my most favourite is Donnie. I hard to pick THE ultimate one, but i do really like him in Rise and in 2003 <3

But i wanna give a honorable mention to Raph 1987

13. What's your favorite part of the fandom community?

The first thing that struck to me when I joined the fandom, first, how much more active it was than what i imagine. Second, i'm not sure how to explain but i was pretty amused (in a good way) by the fact that people were making fanart of people's fanfic(and visual fanfic)/AU/iterations. Like, it's like a fanart of a fanart and i think it's fantastic!

15. If you got mutated, what animal would you be mutated into? Which one would you want to be mutated into?

Good question! I really love raccoons, it's my favourite animal so i might choose that. However if we go with a reptile/amphibian look, i really love salamanders, tho a mutant axolotl would be adorable Thank you for playing :D

Ask questions here

[nerves-nebula]

Idk if it was recent but I was scrollin for tmnt 2012 mikey stuff and I saw an ask you answered about the 2012 abusive to mikey fics lol- Obv you dont have to answer but Id like to pit my two cents in- Which is like,,,Lowkey as long as its done well I dont think the “omg rise verse treats each other much better and adopt 2012 mikey fics” are that bad- Theres plenty and I mean PLENTY of like abusive splinter abusive 2012 bros fics out there and like its honestly a hit or a miss on all of them???

Like legit as its written well I dont think those fics are exactly much of a problem- Bc its just like “omg they help each other heal” kinda thing- I do personally prefer the fics where rise is like “erm yall are really fuckin rude to each other” “well yall are all emotionall constipated” and just help each other heal n shit lol

-2012 TMNT Enthusiast <3

idk shit about shit TO BE HONEST. I have NO horse in this race except for the nebulous horse-concept of "I like to read fics about abuse and i want the abuse to be realistic or well thought out in one form or another"

i never got around to watching all of 2012 and i probably never will cuz sometimes it makes me UNCOMFORTABLE but not like, in the fun way that i seek out. it makes me uncomfortable in the "oh the people writing this thought this was a funny joke but it mirrors my home life too much to be funny and now im uncomfortable cuz i'm painfully aware that there are ppl out there that think this is just like. comedy. and probably don't even care ppl like me exist." <- person who was lowkey bullied by its sibling

like there are things to appreciate in 2012 for sure and i even like it like 60% to 70% of the time but it's also kind of triggering sometimes and i cant really tell when it will be either one of those.

ok but thats just me talking about my feeligns- BACK TO THE SUBJECT AT HAND:

I honestly don't see a lot of value in reading fics that are like, a meta "here's what i think is wrong with this series" or bashing other versions of tmnt. i mean i understand why someone would write them but they don't hold a lot of value for me personally as a reader.

to this day my favorite A-Team Is Abusive fic is These Days, it's been abandoned i think, but reading it was soooo good for me. I remember the genuine anxiety i felt while donnie was setting up his plan to run away. the authors got other fics too and it makes me CRAVE some good dysfunctional family reconciliation.

also it's clear, or at least it appears so to me, that the author really cares about these characters and is kind of taking the whole "ok but what if its not slapstick and we take the physical violence stuff and belittling stuff seriously" route which is like. yeah i really like that actually.

plus the like, leo dealing with the pressure of leading his family and kinda failing is !!! idk. and i really liked raph there cuz he was like a jerk but also totally understandable to me yknow, if you've been doing something forever it might not occur to you that it's REALLY BAD hhfasujgksadmagg.

GOD IM JUST TALKING ABOUT MY FEELINGS AGAIN AAA

as for rise/2012 crossovers. uh. shrug emoji. idk shit about shit but the few ive tried to read weren't realllyyyy my kind of thing, cuz they mostly seem to be meta fics about the authors opinon on fandom stuff instead of like. anything else, hefff. so. eh.

[blackfire-fanfiction]

TMNT MASTERPOST

Decided to make a post specifically for my TMNT ideas instead of keeping them stacked awkwardly in the pinned post. Feel free to send in any asks you want about anything I post! Most of my aus are built by you guys, so if you want to be a part of the creation process, don't be shy! Anons are on :)

I am a fan of all versions of TMNT, but a lot of my ideas are Rise focused. Expect tmnt 2012 to show up often, though!

Same Raph AU (aka Two Sides of the Same Coin) Masterpost // Fanfic Link Summary: Rise Raph and 2012 Raph are the same person. He switches between bodies randomly whenever he sleeps (or gets knocked unconscious) -> Same Raph AU Crossover is a side idea (not canon to the main AU) where a typical Rise and 2012 crossover happens, but it’s with the same raph au. Only one body is awake at a time: shenanigans ensue. (There’s also a fun Battle Nexus plotline going on) -> Keep an eye out for the Same Raph AU Bad Timeline(s), its also a side idea where I explore what happens for the Rise Apocalypse, and what happens when one body dies

Soul Switching Masterpost Summary: [Inspired by the SRAU] Rise Leo and 2012 Leo switch with each other when they sleep. Two people sharing their life with the other causes drama.

Feral Mikey AU Link to the tag Summary: While exploring a mystic temple in a forest, Mikey touches something that makes his mystics overcharge, leading him to get teleported to a far away forested planet, eventually going feral to survive the horrors.

Glitched Out Fanfic Link Summary: After the Krang invasion, Donnie wants to understand mystics better. He pushes his powers too far, “glitching” as he experimented with his ninpo.

Right Back Where I Started Fanfic Link Summary: Leo gets trapped in a time loop of the Krang Invasion.

Divided Era Fanfic Link Summary: F!Leo goes through the time portal instead of Casey. Features both POVs: Leonardo adjusting to the past, and Casey dealing with a post-apocalyptic world.

One-Shot Weekends Fanfic Series Link Summary: I am challenging myself to write a short one-shot every week, posting on the weekends! (I'm posting the prompt in the discord server when it gets chosen at the start of the week, so if you're curious as to what I'm writing come join us! You might even influence how the finished writing turns out)

Idea Generator Link to the tag Summary: I have a list of ideas that will eventually get turned into a fic someday! If you send in a number, I'll answer with the idea. And then we can play around with the idea here on tumblr a bit! (all ideas are tagged with #idea generator, but they each have a distinct tag (ie; idea 1)

Other Fun Things! My TMNT Discord Server: https://discord.gg/RzPAR8U2j9 My YouTube TMNT Playlist Collection: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQBmD-iGAvJrw05P5SWQVtgVttO2Xal1Z My Spotify TMNT Playlist Collection (google doc with all the links): https://docs.google.com/document/d/1P-XUS5nXCZnPbmM1wKym9Pw30c__3CgPYgj_bjhZROs/edit?usp=sharing

[stormte]

okay okay hear me out

For the mutant mayhem series they all go off on their own, right?

I’ve got some theories (and ideas in general which I’ll hide under the cut)

Someone gets thrown thru a window. Not naming any names here… (cough) leo (cough cough) but i have a suspicion.

Another theory about leo but do you reckon they might hit us with the idw arc and slap some brainwashing in there by the shredder?

I really want one of them to find and befriend Casey jones in the series. I think that would be incredible. I’m betting Donnie or Raph.

Please let me see at least one of them retreat into their shells because it would be incredibly if the turtle aspect of tmnt was looked at more 😭

Donnie should fulfil his dreams of singing kpop.

Mikey and mondo need to be best bros pls pls pls. Can you imagine mikey going off around with mondo??? AH it would be so cute, I love their friendship so much.

If what I’ve heard about them paying tribute to the other iterations or original versions is right, it would be interesting if they followed through with some of those story lines. Like, do the purple dragons show up? Do the krang exist? Does the foot clan become more prominent in the series or in the sequel?

Raph should find Chompy.

There should be a moment where the two of the brothers leave because of arguing or something, but i think it should be between someone other than leo and raph. It would be interesting to see mikey arguing with someone and leaving out of anger. We get a lot of it with Leo and Raph, but i think if they did it with someone else it would be more compelling.

Idk what actually happens in the mutant mayhem movie, but let’s assume Baxter stockman is dead. Does he play a role in the series? If he did die, do they just push him through a loophole to make it seem like he came back or smth?

I feel like instead of mutants being the villains of the story, it would be cool seeing them follow the steps of other iterations. Maybe make the krang a huge threat like in rise, or bring in the triceratons, idk.

That’s just a few theories lol but im so excited to see how this movie turns out!

[tblsomedoodles]

Plz tell more about Clara she's so pretty and it's about dang time there's was a girl turtle

Thank you! Clara's an oc i made spontaneously for the Seer Twins au so i could play with a non-cannon concept of CJ (plus one (Clara)) being the seers after Leo and Donnie.

She's a child of the apocalypse, just like CJ.

Clara was accidentally mutated by a rogue ozzqueto before she ever hatched. Donnie, knowing where to find her b/c seer shenanigans, went and collected her, setting her up in an incubator in his lab.

CJ and Clara were born/hatched on the same day (which happened to be the same day Donnie died.) So Clara ends up being raised mostly by Leo (though Clara does call Cass, Mama Casey b/c Cass all but claimed her as her kid as well, since the two were all but siblings already.)

As a teen, Clara is loud and sassy and not afraid to say whatever goes through her head. She does not care to take the time to make things sound nice. She has some anger issues, but she works through them, mostly via training. (personality wise, she's similar to an 03 or a 12 Raphael.)

for this version, she does end up going back in time with CJ, and she's not quite sure what to think of the younger turtles. She tends to avoid them for the most part, except Raph who will train with her without asking questions (the fact that she doesn't remember her Raph as well probably helps too.) Donnie makes himself an absolute nusence and she will fight/bicker/bully that dude until he gets frustrated and quits.

Hobbies are mostly training (big surprise) and i think she likes to sew. I have this funny idea of her finding out that people sell ripped jeans on purpose, and she gets a pair or two so she can patch them. I think she might like plants as well. It's not a big fascination or anything, but she only really saw plants in the greenhouse when she was growing up, so even just seeing grass in a yard makes her happy somewhat.

That's all i can think of right now. Clara's just a little non-cannon oc i got far too attached to lol. I'm toying with a few different ideas on how i could/if i should add her to the series canonically. (one is super sad. another , that i recently thought of, is less sad and could possibly end up with her in the past along with CJ....oh no, i think i thought of something even cooler. oh shit. i...i think i like that. i'm going to have to think on this for a hot second but...hot damn. that would be a really cool thing to have happened with her.)

ANYWAYS!

Thank you! : )

[plum-pitt]

oooo, figured i’d reblog bc i think alot of these r really interesting! side note: won’t be commenting on versions i haven’t watched/read, or the ones i just.. don’t have much of anything to say about. I put these in numbered order matching with which take im responding to, if a number is skipped then it’s corresponding take is one i didn’t feel the need to comment on.

1: Yes and No on 2012 April. I think she’s definitely over hated by a fanbase that hyper-dramatizes how “awful” she is (i feel like how people tend to look at Donnie as a victim and make excuses for his weird behavior by making her look worse by comparison def feeds into this, at least from the discourse i’ve witnessed personally) I think she’s got some interesting ideas behind her, like having the kraang dna, but i just don’t think she has a super strong identity to me, like she feels more like a plot device and eye candy for Donnie and Casey to fist fight over than an actual character. Just an unfortunate byproduct of male writers who haven’t yet learned that objectifying women is wrong.

2: Eh, I kinda agree with this one too. I feel like he could’ve been INFINITELY better if we just got more time with the guy and got to see more of his personality shine through outside of the consistent crisis-mode the plot necessitated. His design totally fucks tho, the mask with Leo’s markings, the chainsaw hockey stick? Straight HEAT.

4: Valid, but also I think in some instances (importantly ones where they’re the same age) Casey and Raph can be a cute lil combo. But only on occasion, sometimes the vibes are there but sometimes they’re not.

5: I FEEL THIS SO HARD. She’s so intriguing but her arc is so infuriatingly paced that it makes me want to pull my hair out. I couldn’t even put to words why i hated it until i saw a video by godzilla mendoza that laid out the show’s overall pacing problem by using her arc as an example, showing EXACTLY how long everything took and how often they’d dangle development in front of the viewer just to rip it away with some contrived bs so they don’t have to commit to a status quo shift.

6: Eh it’s alright but yea definitely overdone at this point. I like that they give eachother shit all the time and have this cautious nerd vs. reckless jackass dynamic going on but i hate that so much of their onscreen interaction and most of their rivalry just comes from both of them wanting to get with April.

7: I agree, but i think the reason is that Mikey just didn’t get nearly enough focus in Rise to properly stand out. I really liked what little we got of him and think they definitely could’ve taken what we see in the show to some really cool places if given the proper time to flesh them out, but it just never came to be which is a damn shame.

8: BASED. I’m so fucking sick of April being shipped with the turtles you have NO IDEA BRO😭😭😭 It’s never once been done well imo, Mutant Mayhem was definitely the least egregious but i have this sinking feeling in my stomach that this might change with the series coming up soon. I feel like this franchise as a whole can do without shipping for the turtles, at least in the canon source material. Fanworks can go crazy, more power to em, but i feel like most of the romantic relationships we’ve seen attempted across the franchise proper have just never quite stuck the landing, and at least for me that can really bring down my enjoyment of a show.

9: Also based as fuck, 80’s shredder is so funny I love him and his dynamic with Kraang.

12: I agree! I think it’s a super fucking cool idea to have Casey start out as a cop. Then some inciting incident could happen that maybe exposes some corruption or something to make him realize that operating inside that system is not what he thought it would be, and that if he wants justice to truly be served he needs to take it into his own hands, thus becoming a vigilante. But hooooooly shit did they do this concept dirty. His casting is a big factor here too, no offense to that actor but he just did not fit this character well at all, and his writing was abysmal.

14: I actually do kinda feel this. It’s like you’ve got the other 3 turtles of mildly varying size and builds, and then Raph, who’s just this absolute fucking behemoth. It’s not necessarily his size that’s the problem to me rather than how he looks grouped together with his siblings. I feel like it could’ve worked if they pushed the varying body types a bit more (maybe make mikey just like this teeny lil goblin, Donnie could be taller than raph since spiney softshells irl also get pretty big, but much slimmer by comparison, while Leo keeps a build closer to what we see in canon) Either level the playing field a bit by making Raph a lil smaller or go ALL IN on making them completely different body types from one another. As it stands the lineup is just a lil bit awkward to me.

15: I think the worst part about 2012 Mikey is that sometimes he’s shown to be incredibly competent and then the next he’s like “baby drinking the chemicals in the cabinet under the sink” levels of stupid. Like idk how i’m supposed to be attached to this guy when the writers can’t seem to decide what he even is. Him getting slapped around is definitely excessive, but also he’s an annoying jackass sometimes who needs to learn common sense, and i can’t say i wouldn’t be in the brother’s boat of just getting irritated with him if i was in their position a lot of the time.

16: ABSOLUTELY. The crossovers never do their individual characterization justice because they’d rather make the same “haha look at these dumb 80’s guys, they’re so incompetent and can’t take anything seriously” jokes every time. Just because their series of origin is lighthearted and they’re all capable of doing the funny doesn’t make them all the same character. You saw people making this exact same shitty ass argument when Rise first came out and people saw them all just having fun together and not taking a threat they did not know the magnitude of super seriously. It’s an argument so clearly born of ignorance i feel stupid even dignifying it with a response. The only reason anyone would make this argument is if they just haven’t watched the show.

17: I actually really like them together in 2003, i think their slow burn development is a super fun little side plot to follow that ends really cathartically. Otherwise, 2012 was ass for obvious reasons, I think Rise!April getting with Cassandra is a pretty cool idea, aaaaaaand well the others i just don’t have any strong opinions about. I think they’re pretty boring most of the time but when done right they can be super cute.

18: I feel like a lot of Mikey’s i can see totally vibin with just having a bunch of friends. Like I wouldn’t go as far as saying I think he’s aromantic necessarily, but i don’t see him as being the kind of guy who feels like he needs a romantic connection to be happy. So long as he’s got his buds in the blunt rotation, my guy is perfectly content in life.

19: Based, people using her actions under MIND CONTROL to justify not liking April is yet another example of people bending over backwards to make her look like a bad person when- she’s really not? Like i personally find her a bit irritating but even i can point out that a lot of the criticism made against her are hypocritical at best and downright bad faith at worst.

20: I honestly can’t say i have a favorite canon ship in for this franchise, it’s not really what i come to it for in the first place, but i can see the appeal of Raph and Mona, even if there’s a couple elements of it i’d personally tweak.

Some of My TMNT Hot Takes 🔥

Warning: Opinions

2012 April was a good character and a fun version/take on April. Y’all are just mean.

Casey Jr. in the Rise movie was a bland and uninteresting character. He did not feel like/deserve to be called a “Casey Jones”.

Jennika in IDW, while a cool concept/character, is overused/overrated.

I don’t like shipping Raph (any version) with human characters. I prefer him dating other mutants or aliens.

2012 Karai is the best/most interesting version of Karai, but she’s also one of the most irritating recurring characters in 2012. I love and hate her.

Jonatello in 2012 is overrated as hell.

Rise Mikey is very forgettable (to me).

April needs to stop being shipped with the Turtles and being their love interest.

87 Shredder is the BEST version of Shredder!

I liked the Irma being a robot twist in 2012. It was an injustice to the Irma character but it was still shocking, and I do like her kinda return as Rook, so there’s some credit to that.

2007 Splinter was a bad dad.

Casey being a cop in the bayverse movies was an interesting take that could’ve worked for his backstory of becoming a vigilante, but it was executed poorly.

IDW Donnie x Mona Lisa is stupid and a completely pointless ship to include in the comics. It feels very forced.

Rise Raph is too big. That, or the other characters are too small. Either way, while I like Rise Raph, his design feels off sometimes.

2012 Mikey is actually annoying and often deserves to be scolded by his brothers for doing dumb immature shit. He’s 15, not 5, he should know better.

The 87 Turtles DO have individual and unique personalities, that includes 87 Leo!

Capril is not a good ship, but I’d still much rather ship April with Casey than with any of the Turtles.

While I love 2012 Renetangelo and 87 Kalangelo, Mikey is the one Turtle that I don’t think needs a love interest. I’d much rather see him be single.

If you’re mad at/hate 2012 April for “killing Donnie” when being possessed in that one episode, but don’t feel the same towards Raph, Karai, Slash and Rockwell for torturing/hurting their friends/family when brainwashed, the you’re a massive hypocrite.

Raph x Mona Lisa in 2012 is the BEST TMNT ship that came out of the four TMNT franchises that Nickelodeon has made. Maybe even the best overall couple in all of TMNT.