#Mikey is emotionally intelligent and loves to read

[brightlotusmoon]

Do I need to break out the tags again?

The day people realize how to do basic character analysis and understand (every iteration of) Mikey’s effect and role on the team and family is the day the future will look like this:

In the year 2023, we STILL have people saying Mikey is useless and has no role.

IN 2023

BENCH YOU KNOW BETTER COME ON!!!

[ipostwhatiwant1202]

Rise!Turtle Boyfriend Headcanons:

Leo:

• ego either shoots up or is completely unaccounted for in your presence, no in between

• big fan of making you blush

• can say sorry but the execution is...questionable

• really cheesy nicknames that make no sense but it's fine cause it's him

• let him play with your hair

• constantly seeking your validation

• protective over you or is just like 'eh they got it'

• tries to be thoughtful

• will only do things if you tell him to

• remembers very very specific and strange details about you but is bad at remembering something you told him yesterday

• will read comic books to you in funny voices

• snuggles

• clingy clingy clingy

• no shame in complimenting you

• he makes jokes when he's uncomfortable but if you call him out, he tries (keyword: tries) to do better

• nose kisses

Raph:

• emotionally intelligent but sometimes goes overboard

• he just likes to carry you everywhere

• apologies? no problem. over excessive way of showing you how sorry? lord help you

• very basic nicknames but he makes a special one just for you

• loves taking naps with you

• love language is definitely physical affection

• protective and doesn't like to leave you by yourself places

• definitely feeds his ego if you tell him how big and beautiful he is

• will cook for you...it's edible at least

• very fasinated by your hands and kisses them all the time

• watch movies with him

• will always let you win when you play video games together

• no self control when it comes to expressing his emotions so....have fun with that

• horrible liar so he's always honest

• no shame in complimenting you but prefers to do it when you're alone

• loves when you sit on his lap

Donnie:

• physical affection? eh. words of affirmation? also eh. acts of service? king.

• keeps a log of all your likes and dislikes

• not huge on compliments but will not take his eyes off you when you're dressed nice (and in general)

• protective and possessive

• uses old terms of endearment from shakespeare

• secretly likes cuddles but can't initiate to save his life

• forehead kisses

• horrible at apologies and horrible at showing he's sorry...but he won't do it again

• does everything for you without even asking if you need help

• doesn't listen to you very well but if you start tearing up, that may get his attention

• refers to his projects as "our" children instead of his

• he may do everything for you but he will complain the entire time depending on what it is

• not emotionally intelligent but also..not not emotionally aware

• validate him/compliment his work and he will do whatever you want

• surprisingly very good at gift giving

• doesn't mind hugs if they're coming from you

Mikey:

• king of emotional intelligence and being logical about it

• prepare for the most creative dates of your entire life

• makes you all kinds of drawings all the time

• he's a little brother so he's used to getting his way...don't give in for the sake of world peace

• hugs all the time and cheek kisses are his favorite

• cooking king. expect extravagent meals and the best omelette of your life

• loves doing what you like to do over what he likes when you're together

• he also can't lie so he's also honest

• can apologize and show it...will definitely do it again though

• can't remember dates to save his life

• adhd so have fun trying to keep his attention when you need/want it

• cuddle monster...quite literally

• very fun nicknames and uses them more than your real name

• dr feelings and dr delicate touch are your worst nightmares

• loves when you tell him how cute he is

• protective but also cheers you on if you're kicking butt

[kestrel-bee]

Something I’ve been thinking about lately is how a lot of fanfiction communities I’ve seen tend to pick a character that gets “im babey”-ified, and then proceed to ditch everything that makes them a good and capable character in favor of making them the sensitive crybaby for their story.

And like, maybe it works SOMETIMES, but most of the time it just feels like the character’s been reduced to that very specific archetype when they’re shown to have so much more to them.

I see this a lot in the ROTTMNT fandom with Mikey.

It always drives me crazy reading a fic with him in it where he’s just overly sensitive and emotional, and everybody coddles him because “he’s our baby brother, how dare he be sad 🥺” and like. YEAH, he’s more sensitive than the other brothers, but he’s also emotionally intelligent, he’s optimistic, he’s got an extreme case of youngest-child-syndrome, when he’s provoked he’s kinda lowkey terrifying.

Characters are allowed to be sensitive, but for the LOVE OF EVERYTHING, PLEASE LET THEM BE MORE THAN THAT 😭

[brightlotusmoon]

@remmushound I'm having ideas for a meditation session between Bay Mikey and Rise Michel where Rise gets to see 03 Mike do cool shit.

Mikey f*cking murders someone part 1

[nilufleur]

HINATA TACHIBANA headcanons / 19 . 08 . 2022 ──────────────────────

───────────────────────────────────────

in the manga it was mentioned that hinata is very popular, which i can definitely see. her popularity was built with her kindness and her beauty of course. i think not only hina but both the tachibana siblings are very popular and have good reputation

so naturally it was a shocker for a lot of people when she started dating hanagaki, even hanagaki himself

although she hasnt committed to any proper relationships before him, she has always been a big romantic. her expectations for love were always high, and even though hanagaki is not the best at that he still somehow pleased her with his genuinity and kindness

hina has a very good sense of fashion. she isn't overdressed but always well dressed. maybe its because of her elegant aura but she looks fascinating in even the most simplest outfits

a nice and observant girl, she notices a lot of things about people and honestly that's very intimidating

her room is always organized, everything is always in place

she owns a little puppy & she would probably name him something like cookie

her hands and her lips are very soft due to her taking care of them regularly, even caused her boyfriend to obtain the habit of using vaseline

im sure hinata has changed hanagaki for the good in many ways and helped him improve with a lot

i really can't bring myself to get over the thought of the tachibana siblings being the 'it siblings' -well manared, intelligent, classy and elegant- the type of duo to make everyone go silent when they enter the room

class president and has voluntarily been a tutor for younger students a few times

likes reading self development books

a very genuine and kind friend, shes a good listener and the best emotionally supporting friend one could ask for

its easy for hina to emphasize with peoples feelings therefore she's a grea advice giver. emma often asks her for advice

even though the toman ( founding ) boys are very playful when it comes to hanagaki, they treat him a little differently in her presence. the reasoning for that is to keep his 'honour' clean infront of his girfriend or at least that's what keisuke tells him lmfao

mikey and hina do develop a great friendship as the time passes. sure they did have a bittersweet memory heh but that's what really impressed mikey about her -her loyalty to hanagaki- i wouldn't say the closest of friends but they do appreciate each other

loves going to cute little cafes with her friends

has a routinely tea drinking hour every night before going to sleep

i think hina would have a big crime thriller books collection

loves to collect flowers and presses them between her books

──────────────────────

© nilufleur

[brightlotusmoon]

Hey @catbowserauthor I'm trying to archive all your Mikey stories that you wrote on Tumblr, using the tags. Most of those posts have me tagged anyway.

[divine-motion]

don’t fucking interact if you ship t/cest and minor/adult ships

more shitty phone photos of sketchbook sketches for my tmnt fan incarnation/tmnt 2012 rewrite bc i have no shame and i’m having fun with it! pictures should have captions since i spent time writing them out, but tumblr might mess it up, so in case captions doesn’t work: 1. left to right: leo, donatello up, raphael down, michelangelo 2. Casey Jones up top, April O’Neil to the right, donatello in the middle and karai at the bottom 3. casey and don again, raphael to the left, mikey at the bottom just bc i liked how their their expressions turned out and didn’t want a bunch of negative space so don and case appear again 4. size chart featuring turtles. left to right: leo, don, mikey, raph 5. sketchy Slash design. big boy.

general thoughts character stuff below the Keep Reading. A Lot of rambling below so beware!!

April: 15 years old, trans and bi. local fifteen year old telepath finds out that not everyone is able to feel what other people are feeling, something she’s been able to do since she was six after she played in that one weirdly glowy puddle (early Kraang mutagen attempt that only managed to mutate April in the sense that it gave her telepathy, was originally intended to make humans become part of the Kraang hivemind). she’s largely unfazed by the existence of mutants and aliens, taking it in stride, and finds out about the Kraang - and meets the turtles - while snooping around TCRI business (aspiring journalist that she is) and accidentally witnessing the mutation of Snakeweed. her telepathy, which later as she grows in power alongside the turtles extends to telekinesis and basically possession, is very useful whenever she gets into a scrap since she can predict what moves her opponent will make, thus letting her dodge their blows effectively. personality wise she is a very determined and driven young girl, incredibly curious (and cannot mind her own business, she wants to know all the drama while not having to be part of it... which makes her very fortunate to be a telepath. listen she’s 15 she’s allowed to misuse her powers a little bit. as a treat.), playful, and cheerful, and she’s an extroverted autistic. in her spare time between her studies, she likes to play bass, sing, read, and write. that, and investigating whatever shady business is going on in town, and she makes it very clear to the turtles that even if they weren’t going to deal with the Kraang, she’d continue to try to stop them herself. she would like to not live under the threat of her or her loved ones getting mutated, thank you very much! and, you know, it’s kind of exciting. kind of.

i know it’s bc i have brain issues when it comes to parent figures but i am very much leaning towards Splinter not being... a good dad. i don’t think 2012 Splinter is a good dad anyways but i’d probably amp it up, make him a mix of 2012 and idw probably. i’m still mulling it over but like, remember in the season 1 finale when leo is watching his show and thinks the captain guy making a totally unnecessary sacrifice is a heroic move, and then Splinter tells leo (his fifteen year old child) that leo should know what or who to sacrifice, more or less telling him to sacrifice his brothers’ lives, potentially?? i know there was a lot at stake but hello??? i remember watching it and being like me: ah i see, this is showing that splinter is wrong and there is no need for any sacrifices as seen in the show when the captain Goes Down With His Ship for no reason other than just sacrificing himself, and leo will see that- leo: *tries to sacrifice himself twice in the finale, both times being kind of unnecessary/seemed like if he had just hurried or done something slightly different there would be no need to stay behind, and he gets out fine with no consequences, seemingly no injuries, and does Not learn anything, his brothers don’t even get sad when they think he died or get mad at him for pulling such a dumb move) me: surprised_pikachu.jpeg

like that moment haunts me. has any other splinter told their sons to sacrifice himself or his brothers? has any other splinter put that on them??? idw doesn’t count if he has bc he’s more explicitly supposed to be bad so???

sometimes writers think they’ve made an uncle iroh but they really, really, really haven’t. also his backstory is the same as in the show

anyways. Donatello: 15 years old, bog turtle, nonbinary (he/they, doesn’t mind being called brother but doesn’t like to be called “boy” or “girl” or whatever), bi. he isn’t in love with April. no creepy incel shit here. donnie is instead more like a mix between his Rise and 2003 self. he has trouble expressing himself and is pretty introverted, but he is very altruistic, kind, and compassionate. a lot of his inventions are made to help people and he was driven to learn about science and engineering because he wants to find a way to reverse splinter’s mutation, to give splinter his life and humanity back. he feels like he needs to know if splinter would just abandon them if he wasn’t a huge rat man, needs to know if there’s any part of splinter that blames them for being constant reminders of his mutation. other than that, he also likes to make inventions because he’s a dreamer and wants to experiment to see how much of the unknown he can push beyond. also, the best liar out of the turtles. also fairly good at compromising and prefers to solve conflicts without violence he can get a little... “obnoxious 15 year old genius” at times. even when he’s helpful it can come off as a bit “poor dear isn’t as smart as me”, and while he usually gets along well with Raph, he doesn’t handle Raph’s temper well at all (calls him “Wrathael/Wrath” and thinks he’s being super clever) and gets really dismissive of Raph’s “outbursts”.

Michelangelo: 13 years old, diamondback terrapin, unsure about the gender and sexuality thing but he doesn’t think he’s exactly cis and definitely not straight. a bouncy ball of sunshine and surprising emotional maturity and emotional intelligence! more so than his emotionally constipated brothers, at least. it’s on his thirteenth birthday (it was leo’s idea for them to pick dates that would let them have their own birthdays instead of sharing the “Mutation Day”, Mutation Day being another special “holiday”) that the Plot would be set in motion, as he’s finally allowed to go to the surface same as his brothers, and on this first night out they meet April and the Kraang and other mutants. he is a goof still, but he’s capable in his own right and gets frustrated when people treat him like a baby or an idiot because he’s not. he doesn’t always treat everything with the seriousness it should but like. he’s thirteen, he’s having fun. even so, he’s very insistent of taking responsibility whenever he does do something wrong and gets mad if someone tries to take the blame for something he’s done. definitely the most compassionate and empathetic out of the turtles, he’s quick to make friends and is very persuasive due to his earnest nature and good heart. much like donnie, he prefers to solve conflict without violence but does enjoy knocking skulls a lot more than donnie. unlike donnie, though, he is almost overly forgiving and not petty at all. he’s well aware that his kindness and forgiveness may be taken advantage of, but he still likes to approach people with an open hand, even if he knows that it may end up getting bitten. oh, and his hobbies include drawing, cooking, singing, and dancing. he likes to express himself!

Raphael: 14 years old, mississippi map turtle, trans, bi. all his fury is compressed within his tiny body, that’s why he’s so angry all the time! no, he’s not angry all the time, but he does have a short fuse. he absolutely hates his anger issues which leads to a lot of self-loathing, and a lot of frustration as his family members either don’t take his anger seriously or don’t have the tools to help him with it. he’s the physically strongest out of the bunch and the least agile. he loves animals and plants a lot and keeps a lot of flowers in his room, hoping that he can one day become a gardener. as his idw self, he wants to watch things grow, but no matter what he does he seems to be best at destroying things. he’s also the one most self-conscious about how the human world perceives them, as he greatly fears rejection, and is the first one to see something positive with people getting mutated - namely, that maybe this way mutants will be more well known and finally accepted by society, so he’ll no longer be trapped in the sewer until the end of his days. so yeah, he’s a huge optimist, in truth. also he’s great at knitting - great at creating and taking care of things in general - and there’s no leo and raph rivalry this time around. he can get mad at leo but not really more than he gets with his other brothers.

Casey: 15 years old, nonbinary (they/them), bi. teen vigilante who gets inspired to fight mutants and the big time criminals (no beating up pickpockets or shoplifters or whatever, just the ones that are really hurting people) and gets roped into the turtle fam after meeting raph and becoming unexpected friends (everyone was expecting it, once Casey realized that mutants are people and not weird monsters. well, not all the time, anyways). they struggle a bit in school not because of a lack of trying but a lack of time, as their parents work full time jobs and someone has to take care of casey’s little sister. their parents are very loving, but they only have so much time, so casey takes it upon themselves to take care of their little sister when their parents are busy and/or burned out from work. that, and they run into the classic dilemma of vigilante work clashing with school work. as always, they have a short fuse, they’re pretty cocky, they like beating ass, and they like hockey a whole lot. hockey, vigilante work, school, and taking care of their little sister... yeah, they have a lot on their plate. oh, and making their little inventions like the taser glove and their puck bombs, something that they bond with donnie over.

Leonardo: 17 years old, Central American wood turtle, trans, gay. he doesn’t fall in love with his sister oh my god. ahem. so, leo is raised from the start to be a Leader and has to mature very quickly, learning to be an adult way earlier than he should’ve, and as such he is very stoic and quiet, and doesn’t seem to have any hobbies, instead just doing chores and training almost constantly, and when he’s not doing that he’s reading or sleeping in his free time. he’s incredibly protective of his younger brothers and his other allies/friends, even if he acts distant and detached most of the time, and removes himself from situations where they’re having fun to not be the stick in the mud. he loves his brothers and admires them greatly, believing they could be So Much if the surface world would just accept them, and as a result he tries to be The Soldier so his brothers won’t have to. alas, they still get caught up in the Kraang and Shredder business, which frustrates him internally. he is the best fighter out of the turtles on account of having more years to train (and convincing Splinter to wait a few more years before they got Real training bc Come On Dude They’re Kids) but it’s the Only thing he’s good at, along with stealth and his sharp eyes. he absolutely sucks at talking when it isn’t about a mission or something he can script easily in his head. in his mind, he’s supposed to be more of a weapon than a person, an idea that isn’t exactly encouraged by Splinter... but not exactly discouraged either. his arc would be very paralleled with Karai’s, as they would both learn to hate their dads... also, absolutely down for murder, and a lawful neutral at best, putting his family and friends’ safety above all other things and following a strict personal code. doesn’t care too much for society’s laws, though.

Karai: 16 years old, demigirl, lesbian. same backstory as in the show, she’s born as Miwa but gets taken by Oroku Saki and raised as his daughter. however, she doesn’t exactly want revenge against Hamato Yoshi because she believes that he killed her mother. she never knew her mother, so it’s much more difficult to hate someone for taking her mother away, even if it does mean that she never got to know her mother. especially since her father rarely spoke of what her mother was like, and much more about how much he hates Yoshi. instead, her need for revenge is more for the possibly idyllic life she was robbed of, since she believes that maybe, just maybe, her father Saki would’ve been a kind father that would’ve let her have a normal childhood and not be molded into a warrior from the start if her mother still lived. and hey, maybe Tang Shen would be a nice mom too. being trained in the art of deception, Karai has a tendency to talk a lot and say very little, or at least very little that is true. she is rarely ever sincere and acts as if she’s taking nothing seriously, which is part of her defense mechanism to never let anyone close or see her true self. she mocks pretty much everyone, ally and enemy alike, but especially likes to make fun of her father’s henchmen and is always the first to point out their failures. while she does value honor to some extent, she is a bit “flimsy” when it comes to loyalty, especially after the truth about her father is revealed. when that is revealed, she at first just feels very numb, learning that not only has she been nothing but a tool and a weapon for the Shredder from the very start, but also that the idyllic fantasy where her mother still lived, perhaps her life wouldn’t be so different after all. she looks at leonardo and sees a reflection of herself, that her “real” father chose to train his sons the same way the Shredder trained her. she feels stupid for feeling like she’s been robbed of even a fantasy, but it still enrages her. of course, this also inspires her to stay with the Foot Clan... just to get the kill on Shredder.

... yeah. that got long. ahem. i’m very passionate about this unfortunately!! anyways i might draw/write more for it because no one can stop me and i’m having fun

[brightlotusmoon]

2024: Hi, I'm a dragon year! Your husband was born in a dragon year, you know.

Me, slightly charred with a glowing tan: Yes, dear, I know. His mere presence will remind us all.

I just realized how much I miss the Lost Season "hey look we're dragons!" boys, and I keep wanting write an AU but I keep putting it off because all the Empath Mikey ideas have been written - and yes yes, I absolutely stand by the Two Cakes Theory Of Fanfiction, but this would get incredibly winding and really I could just work it into a current AU. Bring up the time at the Ninja Tribunal as flashbacks, see how Matured Psionic Mikey plays with that old Chi Energy.

Although... @ulisabarbic-blog I'm nudging you for fics of your own, you're already knee deep in your "what if Michelangelo retained his Ninja Tribunal powers in secret" imagines and I'd be riding the coattails.

@misswildfire you mentioned working on Empath Mikey fics? Meet Ulisa, aka ThickerThanLove, the fanfic queen of Empath Mikey fics with whom I share a crown. Here, you can share too, we need more of these fanfic themes.

[misswildfire]

Am I Smart Enough?

I wrote a sequel to Imagine if Mikey Ran Away. I plan on writing each of the brothers trying to help Mikey overcome his depression and low self esteem and self confidence after the battle with Krang. This is Leo’s part. 

It had been a week since they had brought Mikey home, and during that week, he had been put on strict rest by Dr. Donnie, wanting to make sure that his youngest mate healed and didn’t make his injuries worse again like he had when he had fled their lair the first time. During this past week, Leo had been trying to find more ways to help the orange clad turtle regain some of his lost confidence. He knew it would be a long road, but he wanted to help his brother every step of the way.

His first thought was extra one-on-one training in the dojo. The idea had been quickly dismissed. Not only was he still healing from injuries, but the idea was to increase his self-confidence, not tear it down. With his current fragile state of mind, Leo was concerned that any training, as well meaning as it was meant, would be seen as Mikey not being good enough. That his older brother, his leader, didn’t see him as being able to keep up with them. Perhaps he could revisit the idea in the future, he did think it had merit, and he also loves sparring with the orange clad turtle (he was quick and agile and most times it ended up leading to some very good times),but his Little One would need to heal, both physically and mentally first.

He finally settled on simply spending time with Mikey. It had become an unspoken rule that Mikey was to never be left alone. One of them were always with him keeping him occupied during the day, and he shared someone’s bed, usually Leo or Raphs as Donnie was generally caught up in his work. So he started joining Mikey in activities he knew the youngest enjoyed. Videos games, baking, and just relaxing with him, whether it was watching T.V. or reading while Mikey worked on his art or read a comic book. It seemed to be working, at least to some extent.

At first, he was tense, shooting Leo side eyes. Wondering when the other shoe would drop, if I’ll change my mind and tell him that he was right, he should leave, Leo scowled at his thoughts. He knew it wasn’t going to be an easy road to turn Mikey’s mind set around, that there was no magic wand solution, but it hurt him to see his mate like this, to know that in some way, he had unintentionally caused wounds so deep that the only solution that Mikey saw was to leave, thinking they were better off without him. What he doesn’t realize is that without him, we’d fall apart. His youngest brother was truly the one that kept them all together. He always knew emotionally what his brothers needed, when to push and when to back off and give them space. He forced them to spend time together, when the three eldest turtles natural inclination was to be on their own. Mikey was definitely more social than any of them put together. And we’re better for it.

As the week wore on, his youngest lover became more and more relax, allowing Leo glimpses of how he was before. Today though, seemed to be different. Leo found himself with his eyes more on the orange clad turtle who was sitting on the floor in front of the table they used in the common area, rather than the book in his hands, sensing the younger became more and more frustrated and agitated as the minutes ticked by. He watched as Mikey threw down the pencil he was using the shade the picture in front of him in frustration, one hand raising to wipe the tears that had started to fall.

“I’m such an idiot, it’s such a simple picture, why can’t I get the shading right?” he muttered to himself, staring at the picture angrily. Frowning, Leo put the book that was all but forgotten in his hands down and went to kneel beside Mikey, taking the younger’s hands in his.

‘Hey now, you’re not an idiot,” the leader said softly. He waited until Mikey looked up at him before continuing.

“But I am, this should be so easy, but I can’t do it. I’m not smart like you or Donnie.” Mikey’s lips trembled as he tried to hold back more tears he could feel. He hated crying in front of Leo, hated his leader seeing him so weak and pathetic.

“Michelangelo,” Leo’s said, his heart breaking a little bit more hearing the self-deprecating words coming from his Little One’s mouth. “There are many types of intelligence. I excel in tactics and Donnie excels...well Donnie’s just really good at a lot of the sciencey stuff,” he grinned, thinking about all the stuff that the purple clad turtle did that Leo would never be able to understand in a million years.  “Raph is really good at his body building stuff, he knows how to maximize his macros and workout regimes to push himself to his limit. Each of those are different types of intelligence. However, I can’t do what they do, so does that make me stupid?” He waited patiently for Mikey’s answer, only continuing when his brother shook his head no.

“Good, now you on the other hand. You’re really great at art. You understand how the light would hit something and know where to put the shadows, you understand colour theory, colours that compliment and contrast. The art that you do takes a lot of smarts. You’re also good with cooking. You know what flavours work well together and which ones don’t. That’s another kind of intelligence. There are many different types of intelligence Mikey. Just because the areas that you excel in differ, that doesn’t make you an idiot. You do plenty that myself, Raph or Don cannot do.” Out of the corner of his eye, he glanced at the picture in question. There didn’t seem to be any wrong with it, in Leo’s opinion, it looked amazing. Mikey just didn’t have any faith in his skills right now.

“Still, the stuff you guys do is important. Your tactics keep us alive in battle, Raph’s work out keeps him strong so he can protect us, and Donnie’s sciency stuff makes our lives more comfortable and helps us in so many ways,” Mikey protested, frowning. Leo smiled sadly, gather Mikey into his arms and kissing his head softly.

“I wish you saw yourself the way I do. I love your art, I love that you can express yourself in a way that  I can’t. I love how you always know how to cheer everyone up, how you  know what you need.” Trailing kisses down his brothers head, he stopped by his ear, whispering the next part. “I love your tail, and how responsive you are in my bed.” He placed a kiss on his cheek, before kissing his lips softly. “Let me show you how much I love you.” He hovered, lips barely touching Mikey’s waiting for his answer. He didn’t want to push his youngest, they hadn’t been intimate before the battle with Krang, but he desperately wanted to show his orange banded lover how much he loved him.

“Yes,” Mikey pleaded, having started to melt with every kiss his lover had given him. He wanted this, wanted to feel Leo around him, wanted to feel loved. Grinning, Leo picked him up in his arms and walked towards his bed, carrying his smaller brother in his arms. He didn’t care if he had to spend every day for the rest of his life proving to Mikey that he loved him. He would gladly do it.

[theanonymousninja247]

*rolls hand with an authoritative air*

I was requested by @magicmike5000 to share my opinion about what I think of Mikey, and I simply can not refuse such an opportunity to rave about one of the most intricate and fascinating characters of TMNT franchise.

*pushes up glasses with a clearing of my throat* Behold the ramblings of an insane person:

*I love how Mikey is unapologetically himself at all times, in all things and in all places

*I think he’s an incredible asset to the team who is unfortunately underestimated and appreciated.

*I be always affectionately considered him to be the the cheese that holds this whole turtle pizza together and it just wouldn’t be the TMNT without him.

*Mikey has fascinating undeveloped and growing potential that is so unfairly unexplored.

*His simple pure goodness is far reaching and a total game changer which I absolutely adore.

*He’s one of those rare few good people and I genuine believe that he’s the type of person where the world is a better place simply because he’s in it

*Mikey is refreshingly emotionally intelligent, empathetic, spiritually intuitive, and is CANONLY the most suited for ninjitsu out of all of his brothers.

*He’s a subtle master at ninjitsu due to his flexibility and adaptability.

*Mikey is fascinating to study in action because due to his ADHD it allows him to react quickly and work with what he has within the environment.

*It doesn’t matter his size or strength (even though he is woefully under appreciated for his strength) m because he knows how to use energy and motion against his opponents on MANY different facets.

*Mikey also doesn’t even necessarily needs to be the smartest either because he knows how to read the situation and interact with people and situations of all types.

*Bottom line, I love Mikey and I personally affronted that he is so unexplored as a character. It’s a down right CRIME I tell y’all that he and I can’t be besties because I feel like we would vibe like none other🧡

WHAT ABOUT MIKEY

*tilts head with a confused smile*

Howdy there friend? What about Mikey hon?

I’m sorry but I am the confusion 👉🏼😅👈🏼

[brightlotusmoon]

I would pay to have therapy from your demension hoping Mikey

Me too, though. 🧡😊

I need to write it ASAP, but I'm also thinking of a group project, of other fandom writers doing their takes on Interdimensional Therapist Mikey.

And then he hits the Rise iteration and meets Doctor Feelings and Doctor Delicate Touch.

Cough.

[blurrypetals]

Here’s To Us by Becky Albertalli & Adam Silvera - blurrypetals review

originally posted jan 14, 2022 - ★★★☆☆

Unfortunately, it seems What If It's Us should have remained a standalone experience. It had a bittersweet yet hopeful ending, one I've felt was incredibly fitting in the years since I read it. It's been 3 years since Adam and Becky wrote together and you would think that would have given them the time to grow together as writers, to inject a little growth and maturity into their characters, but the biggest disappointment here is that Ben and Arthur are somehow even more immature and even less reasonable and emotionally intelligent than they were when they were in high school. Also, it's kind of annoying and frustrating to spend so much of this book knowing Ben and Arthur will likely get back together and proceeding to watch them both play dumb head games with Mikey, Artur's rightfully insecure boyfriend, and Mario, Ben's free spirited not-boyfriend before they pull their heads out of their asses and spend the last 15 minutes acting out the love story this was meant to be. Honestly, at the end of the day, my biggest problems were all the filler with the boys we all knew they were going to break up with, the slow pacing and repetitive nature of the book, and how unnecessary the book felt in general. It didn't really bother me so much the first time I read the first book, but in rereading it and then reading this, Ben's book sounds so dumb and, now that I've read Silvera's super dumb and bad fantasy novel that he's been working on since high school or university, Infinity Son, I couldn't help but cringe whenever Ben talked about getting it published. I'm glad it didn't actually take off in the epilogue, but it remains a worryingly big part of Ben's arc and it's unfortunate nobody in his life was kind enough to tell him how trash his manuscript was. There are definitely worse sequels out there, but most first books aren't as uniquely charming and bittersweet as the original book was. This wasn't a waste of time, though, as it did provide closure. That said, it really made me wish Adam Silvera was not still dinking around with his lame fantasy series, so hopefully he can return to breaking my entire heart soon enough.

[hamstermastersamster]

So... What are these tmnt parallels to ff xv that you were talking about in your tags? ;D

Why would you do this to me D:

My usual “I don’t like Gladio sorry lol” warning applies in the below, so don’t read if you don’t wanna see people talkin’ shit about your boy:

I think the main overarching parallel is pretty obvious - you’ve got a tale of four ‘brothers’ trained for combat, operating as a team, fighting in self-defence against self-appointed villains. As the ‘brothers’ progress they find other helpful allies and you can see the beginnings of the found family concept that is such a crucial ingredient for success in TMNT … although IMO FFXV doesn’t spend enough time developing or getting the player to care about these allies to really make the cut. It’s all about the bros.

In terms of character parallels, I think there’s room for debate but personally I run with the following:

Prompto - by far the easiest. Prompto is warm, empathic, caring, emotionally sensitive, socially needy and overcompensates for low self-esteem by overrunning his mouth and acting like a joker to distract from his flaws and make people like him. This is Michelangelo all over. He certainly ‘does machines’, however, so as the tech geek of the group he stole Don’s trait there.

Prompto also loves animals as much as Noct does. Given that Mikey adopts a kitten in several turtleverses, this is totally a Michelangelo thing.

Gladio - gruff, unforgiving, believes in tough love and challenging rather than nurturing/coddling, outwardly self-confident, frequently an asshole to their leader. This seems like a pretty clear-cut Raphael on the surface … but I hate this parallel because I feel like it does Raph such an injustice, and as he is my favourite turtle …

See, the reason I say that he’s like Bad Fanfic Raphael is that bad fanfic Raphael is 100% gruff asshole with no empathy and no acknowledgement of his own flawed behaviour. Canon Raphael has kind of a mushy centre obscured by his bad temper. He’s prone to emotional outbursts and easily manipulated because of it. He pretends not to care about shit but he actually cares about EVERYTHING a WHOLE LOT at 200% INTENSITY ALL OF THE TIME. He especially cares about his bros and would die for them a thousand times over, whether it was necessary and whether they wanted him to or not, because his extreme emotional volatility makes him tend towards self-destruction. Now, different turtleverses have handled this differently, some badly and some well. The worst show off Raph’s bullying tendencies in ways that make him the clearest parallel to Gladio, quite frankly. In his worst presentations he can come across as abusive and awful.

The best, however, make Raphael actively try to deal with his temper and sincerely try and make up for his wrongdoings, especially when they were wrongdoings against his family. His outbursts aren’t usually within his control but there’s a strong sense of striving for self-improvement there, and trying not to take out his problems on the people he cares about. When he does, he feels bad about it and is prone to blaming/hating on himself. That sense of constant struggle with himself and his behaviour is what makes people root for him.

I very rarely, practically never got that sense with Gladio - perhaps only recently in Episode Ignis where he yells at Iggy about answering his phone, and then repents a little in the very next line. He’s generally all hard, rough edges, and when he’s an unsympathetic arse to Noct and Prompto (admittedly he’s less hard on Iggy, but how can you fault perfection), it all feels targeted and deliberate to shame them and manipulate them into performing better. He’s not a shield - he’s a blunt instrument that he thinks can be used to beat perfection and diligence into those he cares about and I really dislike him for his often bullying tactics. Besides a love for cup noodles I just never feel like there’s anything to him besides aggressively fulfilling his duty and driving Noct to drink.

TL;DR he is Raphael with nary a sign of the necessary mushy centre to make him as empathetic.

Ignis - Left these 2 until last because I find there’s a lot of room for debate on exactly how they fall. Ignis is disciplined, highly intelligent, pragmatic, efficient, strategically-minded and a motherlode of righteous sass. His level of dedication to his bros is also several layers of heaven above anyone else’s. He’s also definitely the ‘mom’ of the group, making sure everyone is well fed and their clothes are darned because damned if everyone’s showing him up running around in tatters. We’ve also seen in the recent DLC how much and how quickly he’s willing to sacrifice everything for Noct.

This isn’t a straightforward match. His logical thinking, book smarts, clever strategies and legendary sass make him a good match for Donatello, but there are a LOT of Leonardo parallels to consider: for starters, he arguably shows much more leadership and initiative than Noct throughout the entire game. Being the nagging mom of the team is classic Leo behaviour, as is (I reckon) the idea of unthinking crazy self-sacrifice for a brother (personally I think Donnie would be a little bit more rational and cautious about things, though if push came to shove, he’d certainly do the same in desperate times). The fact that Ignis gets blinded halfway through the game is also an uncanny match for a particular version of Leo that I’ll get onto in a bit.

It leans so far towards Leo that I have a hard time classing him 100% as Donatello, but there are a few things that I just can’t ignore in aligning Noct to Leonardo. Just let it be known that I was very torn on the decision xD

Noctis - lazy, undisciplined, resents his responsibilities, craves junk food, muffles his true emotions behind a screen of indolent apathy, has to be dragged kicking and screaming into fulfilling his role as leader and King. Absolutely none of this says ‘Leonardo’ … or does it? Leo is the leader of the turtles but he does struggle with the weight of the responsibilities dropped on his shoulders by his father (and the universe I guess). There have certainly been canon occasions when it’s all become too much for him, or he’s reacted badly to the pressure. Also, as much as he hates it, Noct rises to the occasion eventually. As this is such a core theme of his character, it’s too strong a point for the Leonardo match to ignore.

Noctis is also pretty quiet, guarded and introspective (or at least comes across that way in the English version of the game), which lines up nicely. He clashes frequently with Gladio over whether or not he’s doing a good job. He tends to deal with problems internally rather than try and talk them out. All fine for the match.

There are few real Donatello links here (aside from one plot-related thing, which again I’ll get to in the next section). It makes his character parallel a matter of necessity in one sense. Noctis is the de facto leader, not always by deed but certainly by destiny, and by the significance of this role alone he shuffles into Leo’s spot … although the better turtleverses don’t glorify Leo into main character spot quite so much.

Same As It Never Was

So, if you’ve ever watched the 2003 series of TMNT, you may remember an episode called Same As It Never Was from season 3. In this episode, one of the turtles gets spirited out of time and off into an alternate future where he literally disappeared on that day, the Shredder has taken over the planet, everything is awful, lots of people are dead, and humanity is clinging on by way of a desperate resistance movement. Only when the prodigal turtle returns can they band together with enough momentum to finally defeat the enemy.

Sound familiar? >:3

Now, in SAINW (as it is affectionately known by everyone it emotionally destroyed), it’s Donatello who gets pulled into the future, not our Leo-parallel, Noct. Leonardo is also generally assumed to be blind in this ep, although it’s never explicitly stated but suggested by behaviour and his dark glasses. More fuel for the Ignis-is-Leo and Noct-is-Donatello debate perhaps!

Anyways, that’s all I got for the moment. You asked for it D:

[brightlotusmoon]

THANK YOU. His ADHD brain adopts hobbies like a cat lady adopts cats. Who are all free to roam the cat lady's huge house. Underground. I forgot where I was going with this.

I always thought that the '03 'Video Monolith' was too goofy for something that the pragmatic and practical Donatello would have come up with but then upon retching, I finally realized it was a solo Mikey project all along and this made so SO much sense!

[sassatello]

All the turtles tend to get written as 1 dimensional characters in fics and I LOATHE it They get whittled down to the most basic qualities of themselves Leo - either he's annoying and bossy or literally Jesus Don - smart weak nerd Mikey - UwU precious baby can do no wrong Raph - he anger It pisses me off. The turtles are so much more than that. And it's for literally every turtle incarnation ;-;

SAME MOOD

here are another fun traits y’all tend to forget but it’s too long so i’ll put it under a cut (2k3 biased):

leo:  possible cry baby but not when everyone looks,rly funny when he lets out, unsure of himself, if he does One Thing Wrong he absolutely gets paranoid and doesn’t give up until he gets it right, PASSIVE AGGRESSIVE, someone: “is anything wrong?” leo: “NO NOTHING’S WRONG CANT YOU SEE THAT EVERYTHING IS ABSOLUTELY FINE???”cares so much about everyone and is basically a mom, super fucking crabby and moody, cares a lot about his family and loves to please splinter - until something he thinks is wrong happens (city at war), dependent of his family, not as good with hand to hand combat as he is with the weapons. probably lawful good, a fucking dork, manipulative to karai, when in confrontation with raph, calls him of numerous names while raph struggles to make his point and snaps at him, but it’s okay because he is the good Guy, teacher’s pet.

mikey: vain, tries to please everyone with his jokes to an extend where it annoys everyone a lot, lazy, a bit selfish from what i’ve seen in the show “aka IF I DON’T PLAY VIDEO GAMES WHILE U DO I’LL MAKE A SCENE”,  smarter than u, contrary to popular belief would rather eat than cook (episode: the christmas aliens) and is a shit cook (the shredder strikes back part 1), indecisive lil fuck, can view things from other’s perspectives, NOT A CRY BABY like everyone portrays him as?? where did this even came from, a bit of a strategist! can pilot space ships, FASHIONISTA, loves to mock raph because he’s quick to anger and it’s funny to him, manipulative when convenient (in the battle nexus arc when he beats raph easily), likes justice, if he feels it’s not fair he’ll make sure to tell you, avoids physical confrontation, a bit of a coward but always ends up facing his fears.

don: emotionally unavailable, “here i made you a toy so you can leave me alone”, a fucking mess, stubborn to the point of not giving up if he doesn’t get it right, doesn’t like to be proven wrong, kind of a jerk, cares more about others than himself, has a tongue that cuts like a knife, likes to mock his brothers but never to a point that hurts them, very understanding, generous, probably has difficulties expressing how he feels about his family so he just builds them things, runs away from opening up about his problems like a pig runs from a knife, if a subject doesn’t interest him then he doesn’t give a shit, actually really strong physically and emotionally! complex personality. wicked sense of humor when he chooses to let it out, has to talk about little things no one cares about, loves to learn! contrary to popular belief, lowkey rebellious: when leo says YOU CAN’T GO he’s always like HEY GUYS I FOUND SOMETHING THAT COULD MAKE US GO ANYWAY, sides with raph most of the time, also friendly. weird, like he doesn’t do anything weird, it just radiates off of him, easily distractable, which is the reason why he knocked out so much in battles, p great at hand to hand combat, super intelligent how could i forget, just a happy lil guy that will fucking murder you if you mess with his family, loves fun and has no problems jumping off a bride to test whatever invention he built, anxiety disorder

raph: besides the ANGER ISSUES™, cares a lot about his family, stubborn, impulsive, NOT A MEATHEAD!!, generous, independent, Rebellious, quick thinker, likes to read, a good leader, tries to get his family approval, works really hard for it, understanding, comforting even, a real fucking sweetheart when he chooses not to hide it with his macho attitude, funniest turtle imo bc he drops the best one liners, likes to be the first on everything but seems a bit immature and strange when he tries to make jokes and no1 laughs, probably a cry baby, knows how to arm (poor verb but idk what else to use) a bomb, can fix his motorcycle no problem, great with kids and likes cats, respect him and he’ll respect you too. the first to hug you/comfort you when you’re feeling down, childish, lives under leo’s shadow because he’s the Favourite Son, no matter how hard raph tries to impress Splinter, overprotective, real fucking cute when clueless.

shit this GOT TOO LONG LMAO

[brightlotusmoon]

Dear TMNT 2003 fandom: please help identify the artist of this piece. It's Mikey reading a book while his brothers gawk at him in shock, because 2003 Mikey wasn't allowed to be serious due to a writing clause, and sometimes we fans liked to exaggerate the ridiculous treatment of his character because someone had to show his beautiful depths. We as fans knew he was better. However, we needed to point out the ways he was babied by the other characters and the writers.

So! Does anybody recognize this?