#MIKEY'S WILDCARD

[thisisadonaldduckblognow]

i do not envy either enemy or alternate universe tmnt iterations who learn rise raph is essentially the Nice One thru dire circumstances, truly

[lactoseintolerentswag]

Rise Characterizations Pt. 4!!!!

Nearing an end with writing notes for turtles. Thinking of posting about April and Splinter separately, and then a big post for side characters.

Raph, Leo, and Donnie here. Now let's start with

Mikey Character Notes

Language Habits:

Catchphrase: "razzmatazz"

Tendency to "hoo-ha!"

Uses aave/bae

Like Raph and Leo, he will verbalize his attacks, but notably less than the aforementioned two. His most common phrases: "power whip jitsu" (chain moves), and "power fun jitsu" (use of his fire)

Shortens words/phrases in his excitement (i.e. the famous omigosh), but lengthens words in his wonder/amazement like drawing out wow into wooooooow

Uses a lot of idioms, i.e. "give us the 911", "hit the bricks", "you've been workin' a nerve"

Uses a lot of alliterations, especially when describing something

Refers to splinter as "pop" or "dad", with the rare "father" (usually for dramatics)

Will refer to others using "chico", "dude", or "man"

Answers the phone with "shell-o"

Personality:

Oblivious. A lot of stuff goes over his head, or he'll pick on the wrong thing to focus on. Like thinking they're part imitation crab men

Passionate. He throws himself into everything, whether that be cooking, fighting, or art. Sometimes this focus comes at his own detriment (i.e. forgetting to tell his brothers that Meatsweats mutated on t.v. bc he was cooking his pork risotto)

Optimistic, a dreamer. Not one to back down from doom and gloom, and is often among the first of the brothers to take action. Has a lot of perseverance

Believes the best in everyone. He can easily connect and empathize with others, most notably Draxum

Blunt, he doesn't hide his opinions and can accidentally be a little too harsh. On the other hand, he uses his persona of "Doctor Delicate Touch" to purposefully use his bluntness. He doesn't really much to hide on what he thinks about people

Sensitive, he's easily swayed by the emotion or pathos of others (read: gullible). This also mean his ego is easily damaged, which can contribute to his competitiveness with Leo at times and his inferiority complex with Raph babying him

The emotional heart of the team, he keeps the brothers grounded in empathizing with others

Energetic. Mikey's the wildcard. No one can guess what's coming out of his mouth next, and his fighting style is very innovative. All his energy gives him a charming amount of "razzmatazz"

Firey. Mikey's a pretty expressionate guy. He doesn't hide his emotions, and he doesn't really hide his anger. Sometimes this comes out in his bluntness, and sometimes this comes out in strained rage that has a boiling point

Looks up to his brothers. He has a lot of admiration for his older brothers. Whenever he's put in a corner he thinks what would Raph do, he's grateful for Leo's advocacy, and likes spending a lot of time with Donnie and his inventions. He also has a need to prove himself to his older brothers due to his admiration

Miscellaneous:

First to unlock mystic powers

Nicknames/code names: "Doctor Delicate Touch" and "Doctor Feelings" are self-proclaimed titles, "orange pawn" code name by Donnie, "Michael" nickname by Donnie, and "Flavortown" is his video game handle

Named his piggy bank "Mrs. Porky Coin"

Only chooses scissors in rock, paper, scissors

Has the top score in "Pance Pance Revolution" (rise's equivalent of DDR)

Well that's all the turtles for reference notes. I think I'll post Splinter next :)

[dysfunctional-doodle]

Goober. Look at him.

I adore the new designs in the Naruto crossover comic. These masks are low-key terrifying in battle because you have no idea what the hell your opponent is thinking with a mask like this one. It shows Mikey’s optimistic nature whilst reflecting the fact that he is a complete wildcard, often overlooked and underestimated because of his exterior.

-> Commissions || My Kofi || Tip Jar :) <-

[placeholdernameerm]

mikey from my personal iteration !! tried to emulate the collage style I think mikeys art would be (wildcard 4 da win)

[sillystringsimpsons]

THE D'AMICO CRIME FAMILY RELATIONSHIP MAP.

Content warnings: brief mention of sexual abuse, cartoon imagery of blood, cigars, cigarettes, discussion of struggling to transition, discussion of physical trauma. This AU is centred around a criminal organisation and by default involves mature themes.

Over hours, through a painstaking design process, I created an illustrated map detailing the relationships between frontal characters in my Simpsons alternate universe, The Good Ones. A lot of love and effort has been put into this, so I hope you guys like it! If there are any characters you'd like to see drawn, just let me know.

More info and close ups of icons beneath cut!

I know I always say this, but interactions, especially questions would mean SOSOSOSOSOSOSO much to me, as I've put so much thought into this and would LOVE to yap to interested people about it. I know art is done for oneself, but it feels really good to share my creations and hyperfixations with the Simpsons community :)

For every character, I drew a little icon and wrote a line of dialogue, in order to give some inside into their personality and traits in a concise way. A few further explanations and elaborations are given below!

Valentina 'Tits' Albertini Her icon is a visual pun, featuring two Great Tits drawn in the colours of the transgender flag.

Aside from Memphis, Valentina is the only other explicitly genderqueer character in the AU's focus (Lucy-Mae is heavily implied to fall under the nonbinary umbrella, but she never personally feels the need to explore it further, and is happy with identifying as female). Her former nickname was a play on how ballsy of a person she is within the mafia - though Cora is a wildcard, she makes very rash decisions: Valentina is both calculated and bold, and her current nickname is a crude (fittingly), but well-spirited adaptation introduced by Memphis. After coming out, she experiences backlash from Tony, who is concerned her late transition will impact the image of the mob. Memphis, being a trans man, asks him why Valentina is any different from himself, and in the heat of the moment, Tony exclaims that half the people in their own family have no idea that he's transgender, which leads to some tension between the two. Tits' main character arc revolves around her exploration of gender and gender expression, and the character that plays the biggest role in it is Tony's son, Michele (purposefully drawing parallels between Tony and Memphis' own relationship, and showing social change between generations).

Michele 'Softfoot Mikey' D'Amico His icon is a nod to his (in this AU) love of ballet, and how he uses it to his advantage in his role as an underboss.

Michele is a simple evolution on Tony's canon son, Michael D'Amico. In this AU, he's been aged up to 23, and instead of having an unconventional love for cooking, has an unconventional love for ballet dance. Most all of his other traits have been kept the same, however, aside from the obvious fact that he's more rational and mature than his in-canon counterpart. He's straight, but is portrayed as very effeminate - and comfortably so. Mikey really just is a girlboss who never fails to (sometimes literally) slay.

Cora 'Connie the Howler' Mezzasalma Her icon plays on her nickname, portraying a dog with some of her key characteristics, such as a matching necklace given to her by her adoptive brother, as well as a splatter of blood - presumably from one of her usual 'errors'. Her nickname refers to the colloquial term howler, meaning a laughable mistake.

Frankie's awkward adoptive sister of Greek origin, Cora was initially made with the sole purpose of providing a dynamic for Frankie, outside of his relationship with Johnny (which is still the primary relationship explored), but she really grew as a character. Initially I made the name 'Connie the Howler' on the fly as a sort of female version of 'Frankie the Squealer', but I ended up actually putting the effort in to rationalise it and bring it into her character. The result was an awesome little dynamic between two characters who were equally stupid, but in very different ways. She may be responsible for a number of incorrect hits, as well as a good few accidental deaths and injuries, but at the end of the day, she's a silly girl at heart who really synergises with her brother's anxious energy.

Maximus 'Legs' Legman & Luis 'Louie' Walters Both of their icons refer to an car accident the both of them got into, wherein Legs, ironically, suffered severe damage to his legs (resulting in the amputation of his left one), and Louie underwent significant cranial trauma.

The two do admittedly have a closer relationship because of the shared experience, though they both experience significant impacts. Notably, Louie develops Broca's aphasia (yes, I know the injury is on the wrong side, that's my bad), a form of non-fluent aphasia where one's quality of speech and grammatical structure is significantly diminished - even though the words are in your head, you cannot get them out, usually due to damage to the area of the brain responsible for the production of speech. Louie really struggles in the aftermath, and has a difficult time adapting to his disability. Thankfully, he's got his friend there to help him through it.

[superfruitland]

poll time besties! i am uh... bad at picking just two outfits to draw so you get to do it for me.

he deserves two outfits for having to wait so long 🤍

[dandylovesturtles]

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 WILDCARD LET'S GO

god this ask has been in my inbox so long I'm so sorry alsdjkf;s

(for context the prompt is: Reblog this if you want readers to come into your ask box and ask for the “director’s commentary” on a particular story, section of a story, or set of lines.)

So I've mentioned before that I used to have a completely different plan for chapter 2 of IMBI and then I basically ended up scrapping and completely changing it, which ended up changing a lot of later stuff about the fic. Originally it was... darker, in a way, because they got as far as preparing to unplug Leo from life support!

Basically, my original plan was that at the end of Donnie and Raph's fight (when Raph said Donnie didn't care if Leo died), when Donnie told Raph to get out, Raph would realize he went out of line and try to deescalate. Donnie isn't having it in that moment, for obvious reasons, but it would lead to Raph thinking over what Donnie said and eventually (after several days) deciding to tell Splinter and Mikey about the situation. Splinter, like he does in the current version, would take that decision off Raph/Donnie's shoulders and decide to give Leo time to see if he'll recover. However, Leo does not (obviously) and, after waiting for him for almost four full weeks, Splinter decides they have to let him go, because he isn't improving and it's becoming difficult to keep the life support running and care for him as much as he needs and so they'll have to let him go. It was then Leo begging Mikey not to let them do this and saying he didn't want to die that ended up breaking through so Mikey could see him.

I changed this mainly because it felt like... way too much lol, like taking the silly turtle show and having a scene where a father has to seriously consider taking his son off life support just felt TOO MUCH and I was like I can't do this als;d;;fs I gotta do something else.

So my first big thing to figure out when I backtracked on this plot was, well, how and when does Mikey see Leo then? And that was when I got the idea that Mikey would become so desperate to save Leo that he would try to go back in time. But why would he do that if they aren't getting all the way to pulling the plug? Well, maybe Raph doesn't deescalate - maybe Raph keeps trying to fight and then emotions are just running way too high, and everyone is trapped in a pressure cooker.

And that's when I just had the image of Mikey having to physically separate them and then we were cookin'.

I really feel like the story I ended up writing is stronger because of this change, because it ended up leading to a bunch of downstream changes that I liked a lot better. I said in my chapter 2 author's notes that sometimes you have to tell yourself no and that was very true then and is still true now!

Thanks for the ask!

[averageladymacbethenjoyer]

i've been stuck in the bear brainrot and i've been thinking about the berzatto siblings a lot. i wonder, mikey probably had to step up to become the patriarch of the family at a very young age because it's very likely that their father either died or walked out on them. donna probably turned him into her source of emotional support (against his will - is this called emotional incest or parentification?), and possibly also pinned the family's hopes and dreams on him at a young age. he was bright, he was charming and charismatic and well-liked, and everyone thought that he would do well for himself "because he's mikey bear", but i can imagine that pressure would have broken him, having to singularly live up to all that. and adding to that, the fact that his dad and uncle jimmy and lee were most probably involved in illegal shit and he was caught up in that mess while running the beef, something he did not sign on to. it was a david and goliath battle, and mikey was always going to lose it.

carmy ended up being a wildcard. by his own admission, he was pretty much a 'loser' in his school years, but he had real talent for cooking and he leveraged that to become one of the top chefs in the world at an insanely young age. but because he was the baby of the family and he was also a "weirdo", he didn't have to deal with the pressure that mikey had to deal with. he was much better positioned to actually make something out of his life. mikey would have loved to live the dream of running a restaurant with carmy but he knew for a while that he wouldn't survive to see this become a reality. his last act of brotherly love being stashing cicero's money away and giving carmy a clean slate to start all over and free himself from the family baggage is what he ended up making of his life. and it breaks my heart to think about all the potential that mikey berzatto had, that got snuffed out.

[milkywaydrabbles]

I'm curious now, you don't need write a scenario or anything. Just another brain picking from your favorite bunny.

How different do you think bonten mikey and Manila mikey would treat their s/o? Like they're definetely in different dark headspaces and environments but I don't know how to explain it. I feel Bonten Mikey(I'll refer to as B-Mikey) would 100% be more isolating than Manila Mikey(M-mikey) for the sole reason Bonten Mikey trusts no one in that timeline and got to experience more betrayal within his inner circle.

M-Mikey seems like he had some sort of sanity left, Like a small dot of light in his eyes whereas B-mikeys like is so dim it's reserved for moments where he's alone to actually be felt.

For example

M-Mikey: my mind imagines he would give his S/O a little freedom, but with supervision at all times (but without you knowing. Might make one of the foundees follow you). If he texts, there better be a response or he thinks the worse and the repercussion would be limited freedom.

B-Mikey: limited freedom from the start, can only go to spaces and part of the cities that he owns or completely has control over. Youre supervised and you feel it, Yet others will face more consequences if you're somehow unreachable for a second.

I hope that makes sense. But what about you?! What difference do you think they have in being a boyfriend (or husband).

Another complex character that's truly a wildcard depending on the timeline. I love talking this out with you. After the sanzu breakdown I would love your take.

-🐇

AHH HI BUNNY! Will talk about Mikey all the time I do not care (he ain't even one of my favorites) (I'm a liar) ANYWAYS

I do agree with you for the most part about M and B Mikey, though I'll just elaborate a bit more on how I feel.

To me, M-Mikey feels like he's silently begging for help. You kind of see that tragedy when Takemichi finds him and he's crying, but it feels more...desperate? Maybe is the word I'm looking for? When it comes to a significant other. He's really attached, you being one of the only good things in his life anymore. He's lost (killed) all of his friends, and even if it felt like the only real answer he could possibly turn to, you kind of flipped his world around.

So, M-Mikey latches on to you even if it's subtle. He would let you out, but it's rare, only really letting you go to see your family anymore. He loves you, with everything he has, and sometimes in the solitude of your shared room he'd show that. I think as cold as M-Mikey tends to be, he finds relief whenever you hold his hand, or kiss his temple. You're honestly a bit scared to do more than that sometimes, because you have seen how unstable Mikey can be. But sometimes he just looks at you with sad eyes and a heart breaking smile, and even though he never says it out loud you can hear him asking for some form of sanity. Sometimes he'll just mumbled out 'you're everything to me' before retreating for the night. Sometimes you wish you were able to get more from your husband but when you see how shattered he is it's so hard to ever think about leaving him.

BONTEN MIKEY? I for real don't understand how he has a s/o in the first place I'm not gonna lie. I don't even think there are supervised visits. I think he's cut you off so much your own family thinks your dead. You saw them from the car at your funeral, you stopped even trying to ask Mikey for visitation even if it's only once a year. You have social media, and a phone and a computer, but use is very restricted. As in, he has all your login information, and nothing is actually filled out as yourself. Fake names, no photos up, really just used so you can browse how your friends and family are doing (so long as no one's private, if they are you're shit out of luck.) Don't ask for affection from him, he's not giving you anything. Gifts and money will randomly show up on your bed and in your account, not that it's worth much since you can't go out without a personal body guard to very specific places to shop.

B-Mikey makes time for a once a week private dinner, that's the extent of how I feel he would do things. He comes home every night, late usually, when you're asleep, and if you're not you've stopped trying to greet him. The dinner is quiet, you usually put on a new outfit that you've either purchased yourself or something he's gifted you, and you never leave without your wedding band. The ring feels heavy on your finger, knowing this isn't the man you married years before, but at this point there's no escaping him. He won't let you go, you assume it's because he thinks you know too much about the syndicate. The truth is B-Mikey does have underlying love for you that he doesn't think will ever go away, but he's a cold man to the point of no return.

During the dinners sometimes he'll ask questions I think but like fucking dumb ones, like 'what did you think of the meeting today' like it's a fucking business proposal. He doesn't know how to be normal with you anymore but you're stuck so like that's your life now.

SORRY I TALKED SO MUCH THIS IS SO FUN AAAHH

[tmntxthings]

Hi. I'm having troubles for a Rise! Turtles fic I'm working on. If you have the time, how do you think they'd bond or approach an introvert shy kid that doesn't enjoy physical contact with strangers (barely hold hands when meeting for the first time)?

Hiiii!!! So I’m assuming they know that this kid is introverted and shy already, and also know that they don’t enjoy physical contact, that would make things easier bc I don’t see any of the bros being blatantly rude or disrespectful but them not knowing is a completely different thing~! So here’s two sides I guess?!

🧡If Mikey knows he’ll greet with a big bright grin, very enthusiastic waving of the hand maybe even both hands to contain his excitement for meeting a new person! If he doesn’t know he may not clue into the fact that shy!kid doesn’t like touch because Mikey’s too excited to notice the telltale signs of uncomfort, though I bet he’s quick to realize the stiffness and unreciprocated touch so he’ll be apologizing and asking for forgiveness, he’s basically the opposite of shy!kid, overly affectionate, overly extroverted! But make no mistake he won’t push those boundaries again🐢

❤️If Raph knows he’s flashing a snaggle tooth grin, and giving a short one-handed wave. He’s excited to meet a new person too of course but he can contain himself much better than his little brother. Plus he would hate to scare them, so no sudden movements, and if any movement at all, it shall be short and small. He knows he’s a big guy, so he tries not to intimidate. If Raph doesn’t know, he’s not the type to lunge forward anyways, he’s polite though so he shall offer his hand for a handshake. But if they don’t reach out he doesn’t take it personally and he’ll fill up the awkwardness by quickly moving past proper protocol first-meeting handshakes by introducing himself and asking them easy questions! 🐢

💜Now Donnie’s a different type of greeter entirely. If he knows their reservations against physical touch he’ll think kindly upon it because he feels the same way. He’ll give a nod of acknowledgment but much more than that kind of messes with his whole bad boy persona. His phone is up and ready to take the place of his gaze after properly acknowledging them. Though on a good day when he isn’t thinking too hard about that persona maybe he’ll offer a robo hand instead from his battleshell. It’s pretty much the same reaction even if he didn’t know, though he may clue in on their anxious fidgeting. Verbal acknowledgement, a slight nod, back to his device! He’s a simple turtle in that regard! 🐢

💙And then there’s Leo, the wildcard. Honestly so many options! If he knows he could give a flirtatious/egotistical wink while greeting them for the first time. Still being a little shit because he knows how shy they are but not being so overboard as to go over and get in their space. Though, he may be so cheeky if inclined, to waltz over and carefully make sure to never touch! Just going the extra mile by getting all up and close and introducing himself with added flare that only Leo seems to pull off. If he doesn’t know, oh lord, it can go an equally large amount of ways as well. Maybe he approaches but notices their body language so switches gears and offers his hand but quickly pulls it back (like a little shit). Or maybe he doesn’t notice and lazily throws an arm over their shoulder, once he feels them tense he’ll play it off by explaining they had something on their shoulder! Quick on his feet like Raph to make excuses and get away from the awkward and onto his fabulous introduction, he’s the Face Man, ya know? 🐢

I hope these some how, some way help xD, happy writing!!! Wishing you all the best heheh <3333

[avephelis]

thinking about. rottmnt pokemon au. like where the guys are trainers.

currently just thinking about the turtles... mainly the types of battlers they'd be? i feel like raph would have more of a focus on defensive pokemon, and maybe strong physical attacks? donnie would definitely be more competitive on the technical side (EVs and breeding and all that), probably a focus on setups, sweeps and speed. i feel like leo would go for more unique/unusual strategies, utilising niche conditions and techniques (and maybe a focus on evasive pokemon?). mikey I DUNNO i feel like he'd just go with his favourites but i also think he's a bit of a wildcard.. maybe likes less utilised or gimmicky pokemon (and perhaps a focus on special attack/defense). struggling to think of what pokemon specifically though -_- anyone with ideas lmk i'm just rambling

[waywardsou2]

Mondo Gecko

Pronouns: they/it

Age: 16

Nicknames: Mon/Gecko/Mond

Sexuality / Gender: Agender/ Bisexual

Descriptors: Wildcard/Michaelangelo/Skateboard

Species: Gecko

Favourite colour: Bronze

Weapons: Skateboard (thought Mikey taught him to use his chucks)

Partner: Michaelangelo

Best friend: Leatherhead

Mondo was a human mutated during the mutagen rain saga, he transformed into a gecko because he was holding his pet gecko at the time. His parents kicked him out and ever since then, he has been living on the streets, till he met Mikey and was introduced to the mighty Mutanimals. He and Mikey have gotten closer ever since and even started dating. They kept it hidden for three months until Raph found out and told Leo.

[angelmichelangelo]

Random question, but what turtle do you think you are most like/feel the most drawn to?

*looks at leonardo with the Burdened Eldest Daughter Syndrome stare*

uhhh but honestly yeah. i'm an oldest sibling of four. 2k12 leo was on that eldest daughter shit and so am i !!!! (which is funny because each of my siblings are literally. raph don and mikey. to a T. i've got the anger issue sibling, the academically talented sibling and the unemployed wildcard sibling. which by proxy makes me the stressed out trying to hold it all together sibling - you cant be part of a quartet and not have some resemblance to the most siblings ever..)

which is also more funny because i wouldn't necessarily say that leo is like. my favourite in any of the iterations. i don't think i have like, a list of which turtle i like and dislike the most but yeah. i guess it's funny to think that as the eldest, i tend to favour mikey and donnie the most, which are often depicted as the youngest :) wonder if there's any deep psychology behind that lol

[spishidden]

GASP. I LOVE ALIEN STAGE!!!!! (How good was Round 1?!✨🥺✨) I mean a tournament of musical artists pitted against each other with a dark twist??? I’m in bby.

Naturally I have a few questions about this AU:

- is it as high stakes as in Alien Stage for the losers of each round? Should we expect any of our beloved boys/cast to fall?

- Any ideas of what music each of the Mad Dogs (April included) would play, yet?

Thx so much for the question!!

AAA Alien Stage is waaaay to good to just be a web series. Make a full fledged anime I b e g

-

The Alien Stage in this is to determine who is the best of these kids at creating krang’s music. The winner gets to join the content factory. The losers won’t get killed on the spot like in the web series but joining the ranks of the krang music producers is the biggest and best opportunity anyone could strive for in this world.

Also, these kids know nothing else. They’ve been training their whole lives for this. If they fail, they’re kicked out and left on their own to survive. And with the pollution and horrible living conditions?? They’re gonna die real quick.

But after what Leo’s about to pull?? The stakes are about to get even higher. The revival of mystic power, whether intentional or not, gives hope of rebellion. And the krang are not happy about that.

There will be consequences.

-

Leo- Alt rock, pop rock. Plays guitar and can sing. He found our about rock when Donnie snuck in historical records he managed to find. He discovered Queen and Led Zeppelin then instantly fell in love

Raph- Favors ballads, has an amazing voice. Can play the electric and upright bass. Jazz was lost to time after the krang took over, but when Draxum and Splinter introduce it to him?? It’s all he’ll listen to and play

Donnie- Can sing, opts not to at first (for reasons). Instead he uses this custom synth he made filled with every plug in imaginable. Creates hardstop, breakcore, dubstep, he swims in obcure edm genres.

Mikey- He’s a wildcard. Can play so many instruments. Guitar, drums, piano, violin somehow. He excels at lyric writing. He writes BARS. Fire raps. Burns the house down.

April- Think mid 2000s to early 2010s disney channel. Synths, eurobeat inspo, dance pop tunes, things like that. I was listening to Calling All The Monsters by China Anne Mclain (cause spooky season) and went “Yup, this is April”

Splinter- 80s action movie star in canon? 80s singer in au.

Because of the krang, all their inner creativity was shunned and kept hidden. So when the turtles break free and realize that they can make whatever music they want?? The chaos (and quality) gets turned up to 100

I WELCOME ALL QUESTIONS. MAKE ME THINK

[stereax]

seems like other teams have started their off season moves early. *coughsinleafsimplodingtheirFO*

what’s your hope for the devils? a top 5: either signing, trade, free agent acquisition, and a wild card (something unexpected)

Hmmm. I mean, I'm just waiting for what Fitz does. I trust that man. but let's go through signing, trades, wildcards, and the current prospects. I think that's what you want, yes? (Also, glad we're keeping Lindy, at least for another year or two. Not the time to fuck with that.) Or did you want top 5 most important things that need to happen? I'll put them in Devils red for you.

I've said many times that this offseason is CRUCIAL for the future of the Devils. We mess this up and our contention window can be screwed. We get this right and we could win it all next year.

I. RFA resignings

Bratt: Bratt seems to want 8M AAV. Fitz probably is more around 7M AAV. Whatever happens there, happens. If they can't agree on a deal, flip Bratt's RFA rights. Obviously you want to keep him, though, and it seems he might want to be kept too, so that's a good sign.

Meier: Get it done. Offer plastic surgery for the nose. Whatever, just do it. I think Timo's staying, especially because he seems so happy around his Swiss buddies and the team at large. Just figure out the contract and sign it.

Sharangovich: Shango is good at things, like the penalty kill and defensive play. Problem is, he's very streaky. We can get him a decent deal and bridge him into UFA or trade him. Either is honestly fine by me. We have a MASSIVE pipeline of rookies. I think he stays another year or two. We'll see.

McLeod & Bastian: I'm going to get so much flack for putting these two in red (these two, because we know they're inseparable), but honestly, after the playoffs, Mikey's shown EXACTLY why he needs to be here, whether it's 3C or 4C. I like him on 4C if only to keep Nate on his wing (as I don't see him going 3RW with our current pool of players), but either is fine tbh. Nate, for his part, is a crucial "glue guy" - just look at the Bastian Effect stats (where we had an over 80% points percentage with him on the ice versus 55% without him). I'd love to see them with matching like, 3-4x1.420M contracts (get it, because their jersey numbers- I'll shut up now). I'm sure this will happen, so it's not something I'm worried about.

Boqvist: Cheap and solid team-controlled bottom-sixer. Keep him but for cheap.

Bahl: You can keep him for like 900K or so, I think. DO THAT. Man has blossomed slowly into a solid defenseman.

Blackwood: Blackwood is not a bad goalie. When he's good, he's GOOD. The problem is, as some of my friends say, "he lacks the most important ability - availability". There is no goalie in the NHL better than Mac... at getting on the injured list. I think after the Caps game where Akira stole his net and turned the game around, and then the playoffs where Akira showed he's probably our top goalie going forward, Blackwood is done.

II. UFA resignings

Tatar: I love him but he's generally a nonfactor in the playoffs. And expensive. Unless he takes a pay cut I think he's out, and I think he knows he's out.

Wood: Unless he loves NJ so much he'll come back for a 1M-ish deal, he's on the move. Maybe the Isles. Meet Lou again.

Haula: RESIGN THIS MAN ASAP. It's not a Meier/Bratt thing where one can set a price for the other. Do it, Fitz. 3x2M. Figure it out.

Severson: Old Man Sevo :') He loves us and we love him. I suspect it's the end of the road for him soon. He might get extended - maybe like 4 years at 6M or something - and traded in a year or two, that's totally possible. As an RD though and one of the top D-men hitting the free agency market, it feels like he'll get a better deal from someone else that we won't be able to match. Again, though, prospects out the wazoo. It'll suck to see him go but if that's how it goes, that's how it goes.

Graves: I love him but even he seems to know he's gone :( But I don't trust any other team with this man!!! Can he stay? Just for emotional support? (Also, Gravy has this thing where he tends to clutch the fuck up at the most necessary moments, like scoring the 1.4 seconds left goal against the Blue Jackets that kept Bedard out of the East. For that, if nothing else, keep him, pretty please?)

Bernier: He's on LTIRetirement. Possible he sticks around the organization, though, a lot of people seem to like him.

III. Trades and Acquisitions

Honestly, I don't see too many trades happening. We have prospects. Prospects will fill whatever spots we lose. Blackwood should be traded if possible to a team that wants to take that risk.

Hellebuyck: I see the rumors. I don't think so, though. You'd have to basically ship Vitek, Mac, and a bunch of other stuff for one year of Hellebuyck. Would be great, if we were the Bruins and this was the LAST year of our window (push all the chips in kind of deal). I genuinely think Schmid can be our long-term future in net, barring injury (see: Schneider, Blackwood). I don't see why we need to get Hellebuyck.

Clifton: Connor Clifton is usually mentioned only because he's FROM NJ. We have WAY too many d-men. Nah.

I don't really know too much about what's available on the market, but if there are trades, they're probably going to be low-key like the Lazar acquisition. If there are any trades or UFAs you're thinking of, let me know, and I'll think about them.

IV. The Rookies

Filmon and Gritsyuk: I think they both get a year in Utica at least, unless they impress at training camp.

Foote: Fitz mentioned Foote a LOT in his exit interview. Fully possible we see him on the fourth line - could be Foote-Lazar-Bastian or Foote-McLeod-Bastian. Seems to be the Wood Replacement by now.

Geertsen: I only mention him because we all love him. Obviously a career Comet at this point. But like. Keep him pls.

Holtz: 23-24 is his last shot. If he doesn't work his ass off and prove at camp that he deserves the fourth top-6 winger spot (Mercer, Meier, Bratt are the other three), he's not going to make it in our system and should be traded while he still has the possibility to crack an NHL roster in another team. Hell, with Haula often on Hughes's wing... Holtz REALLY needs to improve (especially skating, and I think ice vision is big too) if he wants to stay here. Otherwise, he's done in Jersey. He's a 7OA, we shouldn't resign him to career AHLing.

Nemec: He'll be a training-camp decision, I think. But also, I think that Sevo's resigning or lack thereof will say a lot. Sevo gets resigned, Nemec is DEFINITELY staying in Utica another season. (You're not scratching Dougie, Marino, or Sevo.) Sevo doesn't get resigned, Nemec likely hits the NHL. Only likely, because...

Walsh: Reilly Walsh also exists. And if he impresses at training camp, we could see him instead of Nemec for next year. I don't know a lot about him, but he sounds NHL-ready? At least for a third pair, like - Siegs/Dougie, Luke/Marino, Bahl/Walsh could slap. This also lets Nemec develop more in Utica.

Daws: Will be the third-string goalie, going to the NHL level if/when Schmid or Vanecek get hurt. I see him tandeming with Schmid after Vitek's contract is up. Fuck, our net will be SOLID if so.

V. Wildcards

Mercer and Schmid: Both Mercer and Schmid come off their ELCs in 24-25. The earlier especially Mercer is extended, the cheaper he'll be. Akira will probably want to see how the 23-24 season goes before a deal is inked. (Also, I want to see if Akira sticks with number 40 or goes to 93, which he used in Utica.)

Vanecek: TANDEM HIM WITH SCHMID. Vitek can get a 30-win season but he's not built to be a starter a la Sorokin or Shesterkin. VV's confidence is DESTROYED after the playoffs; I hope for his sake that the team can get him a sports psychologist or something to help with the mental aspect of the game.

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Is this what you wanted, anon? Let me know :)

(this is the stuff I do instead of focusing on my finals :') )

[sapphirefrost1]

Mikey Bio

Name: Michaelangelo Hamato

Nicknames: Mikey, Mike, Prankster M, MC Mikey, KeeKee, Orangemask

Species: Ornate box turtle

Eye color: Amber

Mask color: Orange (Hex code: FA8209)

Height: 4'4"

Age: 13

Birthday: 7/13

Gender: Male

Orientation: Polysexual

Weapons: Nunchaku

Role: Self-proclaimed party dude/Wildcard

Personality: A prankster and fun loving guy through and through. He's pretty chill but can come up with the most elaborate pranks and plans if he wants to.

Notes: He has ADHD. Do not put him with Raph, they will both raise hell together. Has made weird pizza topping combos and still makes them. Artist of the house.