#Mikey is a bamf

[brightlotusmoon]

Give him everything he wants forever.

[fandomaus-blog]

I always think that 2003 Mikey is the overprotective brother for some reason and I see him being scary if he was angry enough also the reactions of the others version of tmnt seeing 2003 Mikey being overprotective and angry at the same time, they would be so scared at 2003 Mikey meanwhile the 2003 brothers being so chill about him because they already see him being overprotective and angry in the past

[brightlotusmoon]

For those TMNT fans who don't really celebrate Christmas, tomorrow is Mikey Monday.

DARE SAY I'M WRONG!!!!

[joyfuladorable]

Fuck it, here's all my favorite Mikey-centric fanfics!!

There's A LOT + personal blurbs, so they're going under the cut (Mostly AO3, but there are some FFN links, too. Also, besides like the first two, there's no favoritism in the order)

2k3:

Pretend That I Never Left by redstringraven(sirimiri) - Complete/Plans for an Epilogue & Sequel!!

Fic that changed my BRAIN?! If my fanart [1 | 2 | 3] for it is any indicator, lol. I'll say for the umpteenth time that if you're looking for an Excellent Mikey fic with Perfect Characterization, this is IT (and you don't need to know ANYTHING about HZD trust me TRUST ME this fic deserves WAY more love) His swift ride-or-die friendship with Aloy will melt your damn heart!

Dragon of the Sun by ForestWhisper3 - Ongoing

My Other TOP favorite Mikey fic!! Again, fanart [1 | 2 | 3] indicator! Slow Burn(ish) Canon Divergence of Mikey unlocking his Mystic Powers as his family looks on in dismay as they struggle to protect him. The Good Shit!!!

Of Darkness And Light by Bayluff - Complete

OOOOOOO THIS ONE! Very good (also drew fanart for it)! Evil creature literally trying to consume Mikey's lifeforce from within as his family scrambles to help

A Chat With The Titan by secreterces5 - Complete

Mikey has a fun one-on-one talk with the supposedly reformed Bishop in Fast Forward. Mikey vaguely threatening Bishop, HEEHEE

A Simple Act Of Kindness by UlisaBarbic - Complete

That feel when you put your worth in what you can DO and the wish to be Acknowledged and the ONE thing you thought you did right was taken away OOGH AGH OOOOGH

Difficulty Breathing by RealityBreakGirl - Complete

Mikey did not come out of Grudge Match unscathed *smile* Truly one of my favorite 03 Mikey prompts to read about (honestly just check the entirety of the Grudge Match tag on AO3 for a fun time)

"A delivery boy! Uh, or turtle." by LollyHolly99 - Complete

Fic that has the distinction of being the first one I ever did fanart for! Gender Feels for Mikey cuz they're just like me FR!!

What Darkness Most Fears by UlisaBarbic - Complete

OOOGH AGH I LOVE THIS ONE!! Mikey has to save his bros from the clutches of an evil spirit while surviving horrifying monsters and battling a wicked fever!

Michelangelo by ForestWhisper3 - Complete

Mikey through the eyes of his family and how much they respect him and know him UwU

Mikey's Jigsaw by SailorSaysAhoy - Complete

Another awesome gender Mikey fic HOOHAA

Train-Wreck of Thought by halogalopaghost - Complete

When you're so talented you learn how to astral project but you start using it for pranks instead of understanding the drawbacks of said power and that bites you majorly in the ass big time (very good my stomach turned while reading this /pos)

A Brother's Bond by SuperKat - Complete

Mikey gets Real Sick and the fam can't help but remember last time one of them got so ill. OH MAN heartstrings WILL be pulled in this one!!

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year by moogsthewriter - Complete

Why can't Mikey ever catch a break during Christmas! A short fic that I enjoy Immensely for Mikey being stubbornly heroic and his family desperately trying to play catch up to help him

Questioning Choices by Mystic Medjai - Complete

Fun day at the beach goes catastrophically bad and the fam has to make difficult decisions to keep Mikey alive. THIS THIS THIS!! If I could pour this into my veins for the perfectly paced plot and characterization...

When It Counts by Kallasilya - Complete

Short fic of Mikey stubbornly and bitterly proving his brothers wrong (+ Don being a good brother)

Favourite Disease by devirnis - Complete

Mikey is forced to save his brothers as his body gradually falls apart from the inside. SO GOOD UGH Mikey being forced to deal with situations on his own always show how far he can Shine!

Nowhere Boy by taizi - Complete

OOOH I dunno how I can summarize this without giving the plot away but just know Mikey pulls through by thinking of his family

To Fit the Crime by T33la - Complete

AHHH AHHHH AHHHHH AHHHHHHHH!! Mikey is accused of Murder and receives his sentence before his brothers can even jump to his defense! Oh the twists and turns of this murder mystery!!

you want to know why i sit and sigh (the night is so young it hurts) by love_killed_the_superstar - Complete

Angel and Mikey bonding over comics and unsupportive brothers So Cute)

imma be real with you (cause i started being real with me) by love_killed_the_superstar - Complete

Leo and Usagi being supportive of Mikey as he struggles to train for the upcoming Battle Nexus fight (and also maybe they flirt with each other a teensy bit)

just a hop, skip, and a jump away by baba_buoy - Complete

Mikey sick fic. Heart melting amounts of comfort UwU

Weak Link by yellowhollyhock - Complete

Sweet fic of Mikey feeling insecure about his place on the team, and Leo going through great lengths to prove him wrong like a good older brother :')

'Cause you are the sun, he is your moon/And though he can't speak, he will thank you soon by naivesilver - Complete

Post-Grudge Match Mikey waking up in the middle of the night bitter and sore and gods damn why's Raph awake, too?

Hunted by DysfunctionalRequest - Complete

Mikey wandering the woods alone in the middle of the night and having a VERY unfortunate encounter with hunters

Flipbook by T33la - Complete

Heartfelt moment between Mikey and Don concerning SAINW that makes me want to smash a cinder block against my head /pos

Dramaturgy by Completely_Unaware - Ongoing

Mind the tags! Mikey deals with a Battle Nexus loss in an unhealthy way (UmU)

The Red Means I Love You (Work) by AnonymousCritter - Ongoing

MIND THE TAGS! AU of Fast Forward. Mikey isn't saved from the traffickers in time and things spiral from there

The So-Called "Champion of the Battle Nexus" by 0ozero0 - Ongoing

Grudge Match canon divergence where Mikey gets hurt a little more seriously than in canon (but still wins)

2012:

Devil took your hand by moogsthewriter & taizi - Complete

Mikey mind controlled by the Shredder moment!! *laughs through my pain and tears and screaming*

walk with open hands by taizi - Complete

Mikey gets his hands on one of Renet's watches and things go topsy turvy from there (and it HURTS ME)

(un)reality by SpectrumWriting - Complete

Mind the Tags! Dimension X AU where Mikey is captured by the Kraang and is put through the wringer in more ways than one (OWIE)

evermore (Dimension X AU) series by coffeejellyenthusiast - Complete?

Mind the Tags! Mikey was in Dimension X for over a year and he's NOT OKAY

Gravitational Collapse series by Writing_In_Denial - Ongoing

MIND THE TAGS!! An Incredible it gets worse before it gets better series of Mikey being unintentionally abandoned by his brothers post-series and dealing with some Major Isolation and OOOGH IT HURTS ME SO MUCH BUT I WILL KEEP READING FOR THE EVENTUAL COMFORT

traveling so far to get there by taizi - Complete

Mikey and Raph getting stuck in an empty, post-apocalyptic world and struggling to survive (their BOND IN THIS IS SO SWEET WEH)

Rise:

nice, nice by postergirlsprank - Complete

Short fic of Casey Sr and Mikey bonding after an unfortunate encounter while on a snack run (Hey if you want more context for how this author writes Casey, go read his fic Imperfect Animals too heehoo)

either way, we're not alone by sinaesthesis - Complete

Mikey throughout the years of the Kraang Apocalypse (Lots of Loss and Hurt and Badassery)

going under by redhairedmuses - Complete

Mikey almost drowns during a fight with a mutant

Hyperactive Hypothermia by VeryAngryGremlin - Complete

After Mikey's winter wear accidentally goes in flames and a villain-enduced avalanche, Donnie struggles to keep his baby brother warm

that’s where the blood’s supposed to be! by Dragon_Scales_and_Fairy_Tales - Complete

With Raph and Leo constantly bickering, Mikey ignores a very serious injury after a fight with Meat Sweats

Clever Little Dino! by VeryAngryGremlin - Complete

Mikey trying to keep a robot pet a secret and suffering the consequences

Vs The World by DysfunctionalRequest - Complete

The aftermath of the Kraang strains the family's bonds, and Mikey feels hopelessly alone (and definitely isn't dealing with his trauma properly)

Empathy Amplified by Filsamek - Complete

When you accidentally use your powers to connect with your brothers' emotions then purposefully use them to ease their pain

Sunshine in the Rain by Carnati0n_bl00m - Complete

Probably the first fic I read after watching the Rise movie cuz I wanted to find something Mikey-centric involving Bishop and BOY does it deliver with the additional bonus of Leatherhead!! (also hey look fanart)

A Mystic Connection by rytheoneandonly - Complete

Mikey's mystic powers manifesting and evolving in ways he could never predict (aka Long Fic of Mikey stumbling to figure out why he wakes up exhausted and hurt every night)

The whole world in your corner series by GibbousLunation - Complete

Two fics of Mikey being Mikey and his bros being protective

Better Check Twice by Marz_Zero - Ongoing

Bishop captures a turtle with a bear trap (OW) and is an absolute bastard about it

Come Home Soon by Sherlock_Brolmes - Ongoing

With his brothers unavailable, Mikey (with the help of a former enemy) uncovers a massive conspiracy involving New York and the Hidden City. I LOVE THIS I LOVE SOLO DUO TEAM-UPS!!!! *PUNCHES THE AIR 13 TIMES*

Mikey's Artistic Guide to Dealing with Trauma and Fame by Origami_Nami - Ongoing

Mikey using graffiti as an outlet and accidentally becoming famous

Rook by unorthodoxx - Ongoing

Another Bishop fic of him outwitting the turtles to abduct one of them (Mikey)

Multi/Other:

Mystic Malfunction by VanillaVengeance - Ongoing

Rise Mikey accidentally portals himself to the 2012 Universe and struggles to survive and avoid this other version of his family (with mixed success). The progression of familial bonds in this is just *Chef's Kiss*

The Gauntlet by T33la - Complete

A mix of IDW & 03, a wonderful showcase of how Donnie and Mikey support each other (also, a cool invention and a big rocket and a terrifying near-death experience are involved)

I Get Knocked Down (But I Get Up Again) by Justalittleobsessed - Ongoing

MIND THE TAGS!!! Set in its own original iteration, Mikey has been immortal for as long as he can remember, and he's used to his occasional deaths (and revivals). But then his brothers find out... (AGH AGH THIS ALSO HURTS MEEEEE BUT OOGH the comfort and hope of the later chapters is so Worth It)

Whumptober 2023 series by Justalittleobsessed - Ongoing?

Collection of Mikey-centric one-shots from different iterations and feeling the HURT (Personal favorites are If Only the World Could Stop Spinning..., Just a Flesh Wound, and Not the Best of Days)

To Know Peace (You Gotta Let Go) by Deadpool1763492 - Ongoing (technically)

The Last Ronin Spoilers!! Mikey survives and whisks the new turtle tots away to live on a farm instead of being raised as soldiers. (AUUUUUU THE FEELS!! THE TOTS! MIKEYYYY!!!)

How to accidentally kidnap yourself several times over by Camildeni - Ongoing

Rise Mikey gets captured and accidentally summons other iterations (03, 12, and Bay) of himself trying to get out! They do NOT have a good time!! (but at least they have each other)

the dad diaries by angelmichelangelo - Ongoing

More TLR Mikey being a Dad (and dealing with his trauma sorta kinda)

The neighboring cell by SaltyYagi - Ongoing

2012 Mikey and Rise Leo trying to escape Dimension X together (and bonding)

Bonus Non-Mikey-centric:

Weathered Strings, Tethered Wings by Deadpool1763492 - Ongoing

(2003) SAINW AU!!! With the possibility of Don being alive dangled in front of them, the remaining turtles begrudgingly reunite to save him. Drew a cover for this with more art to come! LOVING the slow burn of reconciliation between these bitter old turtles UwU (Bitter Old Mikey my poor Bestie)

Mutant Nightmare by HamsterMasterSamster - Complete

(2003) The immediate aftermath of Worlds Collide

Hanging By A Turtle by CamsthiSky - Complete

(Rise) Literally the turtles struggling to get out of a deep pit they're hanging over

Shell Game by T33la - Complete

(2003) OKAY OKAY SO!!! OOGH Don encounters something Impossible while prepping a tracking device (for himself) and it snowballs into another Renet-involved time adventure (AND UMMM lots of existential contemplation and a surprise historical guest who's Very Cool)

Turtle Power by halogalopaghost - Complete

(2003) Immediate aftermath of the star ship reactor explosion in Exodus

Disposable by orphan_account (kudos to you wherever you are, author) - Complete

(2003) Bishop captures Don and Mikey and gives them a terrible choice

Dissection by AmevelloBlue - Complete

(2003) So much Comfort after the trauma of Worlds Collide (ie Don's interrogation and Mikey almost getting sliced open)

Find the Road by SillySocks - Complete

(2003) Perfect encapsulation of the family as they cope with Leo's absence while he trains with the Ancient One

Handle with Care by HamsterMasterSamster - Complete

(2003) April is seriously injured during a mission and has to deal with the turtles distancing themselves from her as she recovers

mind-body problem by hiraethseok - Complete

(2003) April and the Turtles Being Siblings the Fic

Healing in Tandem by Eggstasy - Complete

(2003) Canon divergence of Worlds Collide where Splinter is just a little too late to intervene before Bishop starts sawing into Mikey's shell

Let's Take Ibuprofen Together by GreenGoddessSmoothie - Ongoing

(2003) The turtles swap body and have learn to cope with each other's chronic pain

Not the Face I Know by GreenGoddessSmoothie - Ongoing

(2003) Mikey accidentally makes a wish that changes his family's lives forever (THEY'RE HUMAN THEY BECOME HUMAN AND THE PLOT IS COOL AND ALSO QUEER THEMES MY BELOVED)

The Great Skittle Heist of 2105 by AmevelloBlue - Ongoing

(2003) AU of Fast Forward where the Dark Turtles are babies instead and are very swiftly adopted by the Fam

The Labyrinth by HALFnHALF1 - Ongoing

(Mix of IDW/03) The Turtles wake up separated in a labyrinth with only a mysterious voice in their heads to guide them (and manipulate them)

“You didn’t tell me your extended family was in town!” by BoStaffsAreCool - Ongoing

Post-Turtles Forever. The 03 fam is Just beginning to wind down after the events of the movie and look who's knocking at April's door (the 87 turtles)

[purplepixel]

Rise Mikey and Donnie + 6 Protective

:}

#6 Protective: Mikey and Donnie

FOR YOU MY DEAR CLAIRE :]

[sailorrdee]

Don’t ask for context I couldn’t provide it if I tried

I was absentmindedly doodling and this scene appeared so I decided to just go for it because I haven’t been able to draw for like a week

[brightlotusmoon]

Oh shit I forgot about this! Cat has entire tags for her mini fictions for me.

1987/2003 TMNT Crossover Bit

@brightlotusmoon Need to work on this again some more…here’s some pieces of a crossover I started a while ago and really wanna get started on again. Incomplete as of now and fractured but thought I’d share it.

***

2003 Universe

The running across rooftops in pursuit was something Mikey had done dozens upon dozens of times. However, something was off. The smoke from that smoke bomb maybe? It had smelled odd, different from what the Foot normally threw but his brothers had been on the other side of the roof when they threw it. They hadn’t smelled any thing so he couldn’t exactly ask them… Mike’s knees trembled a bit as they landed on the next roof and his vision was starting to become woozy, shifting back and forth, like he was crying but he sure wasn’t. All the same, it was getting impossible to see straight. His muscles started to feel like jelly. This was wrong, this was wrong… He could barely make out the red coloring in the brother in front of him and called, “Raph…” He caught a faint shift as his brother turned but his vision was already seeping into black oblivion by that point. He didn’t even hear Raph scream his name and hitting the rooftop in a dead fall was beyond his senses. “Mikey!!” Leo and Donnie had abandoned their pursuit as soon as they heard Raph’s cry and by the time they reached the strongest of them, he was knelt on the ground, his youngest brother cradled in his arms. Mike was pale, much paler green than he usually was and his body flopped like a rag doll’s when Raphael shook him, “Mikey! Mikey! This ain’t funny! Wake up, knucklehead!” Nothing, not a laugh, not a chuckle, no change at all. Donnie knelt, looking their sibling over with critical eyes. He took hold of the younger’s wrist and his heart raced. “His pulse is slow. It shouldn’t be this slow. This is like…just woke up in the morning slow…” Leo frowned, reached out and gave a firm rub to the center of their sibling’s chest, right over the sternum. Nothing. The dead silence that passed over the three siblings could have froze water. A sternum rub was not something you could fake. If you were conscious, it was extremely painful and Leo was very particular about making it hard and firm. If Mikey didn’t respond, it was because he couldn’t. “Donnie?” Leo asked simply. “Insufficient data, Boss.” the purple banded brother replied. “Raph can you carry him? I need to get him home…” The tallest of them had already stood, his youngest brother cradled against his chest. His arms draped, dead and Raph was having to support his head. He looked…dead. No, not dead. Don’t think that… “Way ahead of you, Brainac” was all Raph said before jumping off the roof for the ground.

 —-

You don’t have Dokku plants here?’ Donnie blinked once then twice at the dimensional twin of his youngest sibling, “I’ve heard of a lot of different plants,” he admitted, still not taking his eyes off his youngest brother, lying dead still (no, not dead, use another word, Donnie!) on the cot in his lab. The entire group had somehow crammed into the small space and Michelangelo and Leonardo were looking over his still sibling. “But not that one.” “Not surprised.” Donatello tried to reassure him. He pointed to the computer screen where he had been hacking into every database possible. “It doesn’t look like it exists.” Raph snapped “What the shell is a Dokku plant?” Leonardo looked up, “It’s a rare plant even in our world. Only exists in the Eastern Hemisphere now.” Michelangelo spoke up “It’s the pollen that’s lethal Dudes. And your Mike totally got a huge whiff of it.” Raphael locked eyes with his bigger self “How long ago did your Mikey conk out?” Raph narrowed his eyes “Why?” Michelangelo snapped “Do you not understand the word ‘lethal’ Dude?!” He stood up and addressed his alternate dimensional family “This stuff KILLS! It’s poison. It slows and then stops the heart by keeping the mitochondria in the heart cells from firing. And if your bro hasn’t succumbed yet then he still has time and we needa know how much! So, think you could jump off your high horse long enough to help?!” The entire room went dead silent. Leonardo reached out and lay a hand on his brother’s shoulder “Michelangelo…” “No, I’m fine, Leonardo,” he replied, shrugging his leader’s hand off. “I know our world’s are mondo different but poison is STILL poison and poison KILLS. I KNEW something was totally off and I didn’t drag us here to watch Other-Me die.” Raph had paled, went quiet “I…I thought that your world…” he trailed off. What could he say? He thought there was no danger in their world? No threat? No death? No way to say that without sounding insulting. This other Michelangelo’s sharp passion had silenced his tongue. Leonardo responded, “In our world, poison is still poison.” He lay a wet cloth on the unconscious Mikey’s forehead. Raphael added, folding his arms “And death is still death.” Leo, who had been quiet for a long time, finally spoke, “We brought him home about two hours ago. It took us…maybe a half hour to get home, Donnie?” The genius nodded “Something like that.” He felt useless… Michelangelo eyed Leonardo “So…what? 10 hours, maybe?” Leonardo nodded, his eyes focused “Donatello, can you you reconfigure that portal to take us to Japan?” Donatello gave a half smile “Do turtles have shells?” He took out his wrench and quickly approached the small portal stick laying on the table. Leonardo turned to his other self “Just like there’s Dokku plants in our world, there’s also the counteragent, the Gazi leaves. If it’s been 2 hours since your brother collapsed, we have ten hours to get ahold of the cure and administer it.” Raph blinked, surprised “You’re gonna help us?” Michelangelo stood, his eyes narrowed “Of course. What kinda question is that?” He gave a faint smile to the stronger turtle, “We’re not gonna let your Mikey die Dude.” Leo smiled faintly “Your optimism is encouraging…” “Not optimism,” Michelangelo corrected “A promise.” Donnie watched his counterpart work and he worked quickly before kneeling next to his ill brother “You hear that, Mikey? You’re gonna be okay. Bi…Big brothers are gonna get you the medicine you need and you’re going to be fine.” He lay a small kiss to his sibling’s hot forehead “So you don’t stop fighting on me…

[angelmichelangelo]

what. what if i wrote a multi chaptered fic about the squirrelanoids in 2003 verse. then what

[personne-reblogs]

BAMF Rise Mikey is canon and I will prove it

Yes, it's all "he lifts a cargo ship" this, "he launches a whole building" that, and sure, it says a lot about just what he is capable of, but he does so with his usual humor and joyfulness.

What I mean here is that there are times even he stops playing around. Case in point: the season 2 finale.

When the fam gets to the Crying Titan, this is what they see:

And this is how they enter the scene:

This is a very cool moment in the show, with heroic music and witty lines, and the gang seems pumped up for the fight ahead. Raph is smiling confidently, Leo is smug, April rocks, Donnie puts up his unavailable bad boy image.

Mikey, though. We don't often see that look on his face. My boy is MURDEROUS.

Even as they strike their badass hero pose, he's uncharacteristically frowning, without a hint of a grin:

Which perhaps shouldn't be surprising at all. The Shredder is harming both his dads, after all. And we know how much they matter to him specifically.

Conclusion: don't mess with what's really important to Mikey.

You won't like that side of him.

[i-logophile]

The Glass Pawn Update + (another) Ch. 10 Sneak Peek

Managed to crank out 7,000 words the last two days, and I’m now starting on the final chapter!!

This fic might actually end up with 13 chapters now lol with the last three being on the shorter side between 4-6k words. I wanna finish this last chapter first to solidify how I want to split up the pacing before I officially update the total count, but it’ll probably end up being 13 because editing 8k chapters is tedious af, and Ch 10 is already well over 8k ,:D

In the meantime, have another Ch. 10 sneak peek bc I really do love this chapter

All at once, half a dozen chains blazed to life around Mikey. They rocketed away from him in a starburst of orange, and the ends wrapped around whatever they came into contact with first: a tree, a bench, a park railing, a light post. As quickly as they came into existence, the chains fell perfectly still, and so did the rest of the clearing. Though no call had been made, a silent ceasefire seemed to travel through the ranks of the EPF. At the center of it all, Mikey took hold of the chains. Clark saw the small turtle’s chest rise and fall in a deep breath. Then he yanked, and the chains clinked, going taut. At first, nothing happened. Clark heard the agents and soldiers across the clearing begin muttering. However, their voices were soon swallowed by a visceral groaning, cracking, tearing rrrrRRIIIIIP!

[brightlotusmoon]

I want to make angst for 1987 Mikey fanfic wise but I can't think of any good moments in the show that would work other than Maybe the ep were he has to seduce a plant into liking him which makes him uncomfy. Do you have any suggestions from the show I could use that you remember?

What about the episode "What's Michelangelo Good For?"? It's literally an episode that focuses on his usefulness to the team.

Ages ago, a friend here and I collaborated on a bunch of fun 1987 mini fics on Tumblr, and you can find them if you look for tags like "empath Mikey" and Mikey is a bamf" and the 1987 tag. I can see about just finding them all in a collection.

What with our creepy new anon stalker sending death threats over how we explore canon moments like the Lead Pipe Incident, the Grudge Match teasing, etc etc, I'm going to be slightly cautious about this. Other authors don't need the grief.

[5cythz]

Razz-Ma-Taz!!!

Have my random doodle from church yesterday that I turned into a way to ellabrate drawing!

[owlyspirit]

I'm still not over The Last Ronin, it has my favorite trope of the funny one breaking and growing cynical, bitter and even vengeful

I love that he changed so much you really can't tell at the beginning who the turtle with the black mask is, it took April saying his name for me to know it was him

Plus the whole thing with him talking to his dead brothers, could be him just hallucinating them in his grief but also there could be something real to it as well consodering the whole Hamato business and spirit realm etc

I'm not over it man, it's so mhmmmm

[tmntchickadee]

THIS! THIS RIGHT HERE IS WHAT MADE ME LOVE 03 MIKEY SO MUCH! MY DUDE IS OBSERVANT AS HELL AND IS GENIUS IN SOCIAL STANDARDS! HE CAN READ THE ROOM FASTER THAN A CAMERA!

TMNT 2003 Michelangelo being an excellent and understanding brother.

I don’t know how to make gifs and I didn’t have luck finding one of this scene. But I really wanted it here, so some screenshots will do.

[tmntkiseki]

I rewatched "Grudge Match" yesterday for the hell of it and god damn, I really forgot how good this episode is (especially knowing it's technically one of the filler episodes.)

Even though Leonardo is still struggling emotionally in the aftermath of Exodus, we see in this episode that beneath all his anger, frustration, and anxiety, his calmer, more gentle side still exists. He could have easily chosen to be wary of or even openly hostile towards the Daimyo's son due to their past conflicts when Ue was still the Ultimate Ninja (something that Ue doesn't even remember due to being revived as an innocent child,) but he not only agrees to be his friend, but is openly protective of him. I need more Leo and child!Ue interactions, k.

Holy fuck, Michelangelo. He spent the majority of this episode desperately trying to get out of his rematch with Kluh and during the first part of the fight, he nearly gets beaten to a pulp. Unfortunately, Kluh's big mistake was to threaten Mikey's family while taunting him over his seemingly inevitable defeat, triggering a recent memory of Leo telling Mikey that in their lives, they only have each other and if one of them falls, they all fall. At that point, Mikey goes completely apeshit on Kluh's ass and by god, it's a treat to watch. At one point, he is wielding one of his nunchaku by his ankle. Like??? Of all the episodes that hammer the point home that Mikey is actually the most naturally talented of his brothers and is formidable in a fight as long as he stays focused, this one does it the best.

Edit: Behold, BAMF Mikey in action

[brightlotusmoon]

Well, then I'm tagging the other fandom grandma, the archivist and wiki editor, @hummerhouse ! I see your tags about 1987 Mikey and I must say that 87 Mikey is brutal when he wants to be and there are some good examples especially in the Red Sky seasons.

Every Mikey is required to have episodes where they absolutely rock everyone’s shit up.

Sorry, I don’t make the rules.