#a) acts more like other iterations of splinter

[purplepixel]

Rise splinter is my fav bc HE IS FLAWED. This is why he's the most interesting splinter to me. Unlike other iterations, hes not "the wise one" who always knows what's best. Not to throw shade at other splinters, I'm just saying he's more of a character in rise than just the mentor figure. And I love him for that. He arguably got the most character development in rise

No but like every time I think about Splinter and what he had to go through just to keep the boys alive, my heart hurts for him so badly. Is he perfect? No not at all, but none of them are and by god does he love his sons.

The fact that all of them are alive, and grew to thrive despite the circumstances surrounding them is a testament of how much Splinter loves his boys. He raised four babies following the most traumatic time of his life, all alone with nothing but the sewers to house them (to hide them.) I feel like he’s not given the credit he deserves for all he’s done.

And I get that it’s easy to hold up his flaws and faults when it comes to parenting, I myself like looking into them because flawed characters are super interesting and said flaws make them more realistic and engaging, but he tries, and again, so many others would have given up on the boys or failed along the way but Splinter didn’t.

He’s their father, for all his faults he did his damndest to make sure they survived.

[risestarkiss]

Socialized

Rise Ramblings #664

There are two concepts that I really appreciate in Rise of the TMNT, of which, helped to set the Rise boys apart from other iterations.

Before the start of the show, the Rise boys:

1) Already met their lifetime bestie, April O’Neal.

2) Have already journeyed topside, thus it’s no big deal.

The fact that these concepts are already established from the start helps to take away the typical stresses from the turtles’ story. Instead, the stage is set for the specific type of adventures and hijinks the Rise boys do get into, such as discovering the wonders of the Hidden City and the people that dwell therein.

I believe that there are two people we can thank for helping the boys understand the world around them.

First is Splinter and his lackadaisical parenting style.

Since he was a more relaxed father than his other incarnations, I’m sure that these boys were free to explore the world at an earlier age. Most certainly, many of their childhood adventures landed them topside, thus allowing them to have experiences that their other versions were unable to have.

The second person is April.

What does April have to do with their upbringing?

Well, I’ll show you.

- Excerpt from “Ninja Power (Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles)”

Five years from the start of the show the boys would have been 8, 9, 9, and 10. What great ages to meet their first real friend!

Growing up with April would have had a huge effect on their social development; they’d be adapted to speaking with people outside of their immediate family, they’d learn about society through first-hand experiences and not just from tv or books, and they would have gotten used to the world around them by April acting like a bridge between the sewers and topside.

This is why by the start of the show, I believe, the turtles were already so well socialized!

Mostly....mostly. 😒

[tmntkiseki]

There was a video that I watched a several days ago that was a pretty standard "let's compare all the different iterations of TMNT" kind of deal

And it made me sad because not only was there a classic "2003 turtles don't feel like brothers/don't act very brotherly towards each other" claim, but the video also said that 2003 Splinter doesn't really feel like their father and is far more their teacher.

Wh... what???? Wh-where... how... WERE WE WATCHING THE SAME SHOW?

[girlbowser]

going to go completely bugfuck insane for a little bit here. we need to talk about ultrose

Ultimate Rose, Pt. 1 (establishing facts)

so

ultrose is a fucking bundle of contradictions, huh?

i think its worth immediately establishing postcanon rose as a liar. specifically, there are a few crucial lies -- lies she tells herself as well -- that define the basis of ultrose. (im mostly going to be looking at candy timeline here, because meat ultrose is a whole other tin can of worms.)

the crucial scenes to compare are the last scene where she talks to john at the peak of the war, and the scene where she plays her hand in beyond canon.

i'm going to skip around this scene (candy 33), but stick with me.

this rose.

this rose right here. this rose who is happy. who loves her wife. who has *a* daughter.

this rose, as she herself describes.

is not "true."

rose firmly believes that knowledge means suffering. which, given the state of her body at the start of the prologue, probably feels deeply true! and her ailment disappearing coincides with her sight vanishing, and her knowledge of The Shape Of Postcanon slipping away. (candy 4)

"For some reason" "whatever it was she felt"

i think it's extremely important to establish here that rose wiped her own mind.

or maybe roxy wiped her mind. or the severing of meat/candy wiped her mind, but that last one feels very unlikely to me considering that this mind-wiped-state is at-will.

and we know that, because during the candy timeline, she is two things:

blind to the world

happy

and in beyond canon, this very same rose, days later, is:

too-aware, and in touch with her powers

deeply miserable

she stopped trying the moment the comic came back. she stopped trying because she never started. that was a whole ass different rose. one without the memories or powers.

if you'd allow me to be insane, i think i know which rose.

from ultdirk describing his experiences (with supplementary text from davepeta), we know what being ultimate is like. we understand that he has access to every splinter of himself, some more prominent than others.

so if rose is able to prioritize bringing one iteration of herself to the front of her mind... which rose would be the best?

which rose would be the happiest, the most pleased by living on earth c? the one blissed by love, the one who would be happy with a daughter and a wife.

it's not our main rose. she was not happy during her wedding. she didn't enjoy her life. she didn't think she'd ever be happy until after the meat/candy split happened.

you know who would have loved that?

what

what is this...... very very important thing doing here?

why is she "correcting" herself? why is she making this distinction? we haven't heard a word spoken about complacency of the learned, maybe at all, in the entire epilogues. and we know rose never really finished the story. it was just some amateur wizardfic.

but say there was another rose. a member of the gestalt, who actually DID finish writing complacency. who fought her whole life for the right to have a family, but ultimately failed.

say there was a rose who was an author.

yeah. i think the rose who gets to act out the bulk of the candy timeline (notably NOT yiffy. that was alllllllll ultrose) is alpha rose. roxy's mom. the one who fought the condesce and lost. and i think she's here simply because she's the best choice.

i mean, fuck, in hs2 rose straight up says it.

so . yeah. this is all establishing stuff for my Insane Theory. my real one about why shes doing all this. how shes doing all this. i have been sitting on this theory for months and if you thought "candy rose is alpha earth rose" is unhinged you aint seen nothing yet

gloves are canon

part 2 is here.

[our-happygirl500-fan]

Various pieces of information from the Rise Q&A back in July 

1. When asked how the Turtles got their names in Rise it was said that back when Splinter was Lou Jitsu he travelled the world & developed a love for the Italian Renaissance & it’s art

This might have possibly been hinted at in the show as during the episode Al Be Back, Splinter was shown singing opera when trying to convince his sons to let him join their band.

2. Big Mama’s Assistant was stated to be one of the Turtle’s missing siblings & there were plans to name her after a female artist with Frida Kahlo possibly being the artist Big Mama’s Assistant would have been named after

The Turtles were supposed to figure out that Big Mama’s Assistant was related to them after various encounters with Big Mama, her personality is said to be ‘so disciplined & serious to the point where it is funny’.

3.  The Turtles had always had the potential for mystic powers & the mystic weapons that they took from Draxum acted as a catalyst & conduit to activating them

The Turtles are said to have had their mystic abilities inherently but needed something to help unlock them.

4. When asked about Mayhem it was admitted that Mayhem’s teleport ability was tricky to use due to easily being able to get the Turtles out of any serious situation

However it was stated that it could of been fun to see Mayhem go on seperate adventures similar to Perry the platypus in Phineas & Ferb.

5. When asked about the Raph & Casey friendship which can be seen in other iterations in TMNT it was said that though Raph & Casey didn’t get the chance to interact that much in the show they would actually make ‘the perfect pair’ if they had gotten to spend time together.

6. It was stated that after the Krang were sealed away the Turtles crashed & needed recovery time

7. After the events of the movie the public become slightly more aware of the existence of the Turtles

It was said that there would be a divide between people who feared & people who supported mutants & that the Turtles would have to work to maintain their reputation as heroes

8. When asked about if the Turtles had favourites when it came to their brother it was stated that Mikey was most likely Raph’s favourite & that Leo had a soft spot for Donnie & that Leo, Mikey & Donnie all look up to Raph

Mikey, Donnie & Leo: Raph! Raph! Raph!

9. When asked about Future Mikey & why he looked so much older in the future it was stated that the more powerful you Ninpo & Mystic energy are the more potential the powers have to drain whoever is using them

10. When asked about the heights of the future Turtles it was stated that due to his powers draining him Mikey had shrunk slightly but the Future version of Raph had been over 6ft 6 & the Future Version of Donnie had been slightly taller that Future Leo.

11. Casey Junior is said to have lost Cassandra when he was rather young & only has brief memories of her & that he was mostly raised by the Future version of Leo.

12. When asked about Splinter’s mystic abilities it was stated that he could do anything any of the Turtles could do if he tried

We’ve have briefly seen this when Splinter used Leo’s odachi to make portals but it also possibly means that Splinter could have also possibly replicated some of Raph, Donnie & Mikey’s abilities as well.

13. If there had been a cross over episode with Rise the 2012 Turtles were the Turtles most likely to be used due to many of the people who worked on Rise having also worked on the 2012 cartoon as well

Mikey’s powers are said to open up the possibility for cross overs with other universes

14. When asked about the Rat King it was stated he could have possibly been an extremely powerful Yokai

15. It was stated that Leo & Donnie both got their confidence from Splinter while Raph inherited his courage & sense of duty 

It was also stated that Mikey can tell that Splinter misses his old family & works to keep the family together

[kismetconstellations]

Hello! I was just wondering what you thought of these cause I feel like I’m losing my mind ? You’re more the expert on shiro and Keith’s relationship so I’d like to see your thoughts!

Oh, God. Sweet Jesus, Lord, give me strength.

I'm going to start using people's understanding of and empathy for Shiro (or obvious lack thereof) as a litmus test for gauging their basic media comprehension. Because it consistently seems that the people with the worst takes on him have outstandingly poor media literacy, and a spectacular unwillingness and inability to so much as attempt to emotionally connect with a character that doesn't reflect them, personally.

Shiro is older, emotionally reserved, and repeatedly finds himself in positions of leadership over people much younger than him, forcing him to be both commanding officer and caregiver/mentor to the best of his ability while privately grappling with his own extreme personal demons. That, somehow, equates to him being a manipulative, "emotionally blackmailing piece of shit".

I'd like someone to explain to me how the man who bailed the kid who stole his car out of juvie because he recognized that kid's potential for greatness, was committing an act of "emotional blackmail". How Shiro advocating for Keith over and over and over again is "emotional blackmail". How Shiro being resigned to dying in his twenties and trusting his closest friend, who he has always believed in, to carry on as leader in his stead, is "emotional blackmail".

I love Leonardo from the 2003 iteration of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I've expressed that love several times on this blog. He's easily one of my favorite characters of all time, and so much of the foundation of my personality and sense of morality was shaped by him. But, when Leonardo is grappling with PTSD, in Season Four, there is very much a strong anger attached to his hurt. Anger at his brothers, for seeming to not take things seriously enough or recognize how close they come to death when they aren't giving one-hundred percent of themselves to every single battle. Anger at Splinter, the sensei and father he loves beyond measure, for not being the unforgiving teacher Leo felt he needed in order to improve. And, anger at himself for not being strong enough to keep his family from believing that they had no other choice but to sacrifice themselves to rid the universe of evil.

Leonardo does yell. He yells at his brothers and his father. He lashes out in a furious rage, and pushes and pushes and pushes himself, desperate to reach a higher tier of ninja, in order to atone for his perceived failure to protect the people he loves.

Shiro, by contrast, almost never yells. He shouts out orders on the battlefield, yes, as soldiers and commanding officers do, but yelling at his teammates, and, specifically, at Keith?

Does this person just interpret any man speaking slightly louder than a whisper as him "yelling"?

Shiro is almost absurdly gentle for someone who has endured the Hell he has. When Lance gets in his face, loudly questioning one of Shiro's calls- a call that is in support of Keith- Shiro doesn't respond with anger, snapping at Lance to shut his mouth or back off. He, instead, calmly moves Lance away from him, explaining in the same calm but firm manner why he's standing by his decision that Keith is the perfect choice to accompany him on that particular mission.

When Shiro had Keith seek out the Red Lion on his own, it's because he knew that Keith was more than capable of handling himself and the Lion would reach out to their Paladin, and because Pidge had just revealed herself to be family of the crew Shiro felt responsible for losing. Meaning that Shiro accompanying her to the holding cells to see if Sam and Matt were among the prisoners onboard was a given.

And, the only person who raises their voice in anger in that entire scene is Pidge.

Teaching Keith "one suicidal trick"... In an effort to connect with him. To show Keith that Shiro, himself, the straitlaced, rule-abiding Garrison Golden Boy, is a bit of a thrill-seeker, too, but you have to learn to temper your impulse with patience for your own good.

It's really, really easy to assign malicious intent to a person's every action when you've already decided to hate them.

"Become the leader, be the first to die".

Oh, like Shiro was?

"He never tells Keith he's a cool kid".

"So, you grew up out here?"

"Yep. Just me and my pop."

(Looks to Keith to gauge where he's at emotionally, and whether it's okay to ask his next question.)

"He was...

He was a fireman, right?"

"Yeah. He was a real hero.

Everyone told him not to run back into that building, but... you couldn't tell him anything."

"Sounds like someone I know."

Directly drawing a positive comparison between Keith and his hero father based on their mutual obstinance, a personality trait that Keith has likely been reprimanded for, in the past? A comparison that makes Keith, himself, smile? Nah, that's nothing like telling Keith that he's "cool".

"Never makes Keith feel welcome".

Calling Shiro "Dumbledore"...

OP, whoever you are, I don't mean to be rude, but, sincerely:

It's interesting that you rarely find a Shiro fan who thinks poorly of Keith, but there's certainly an abundance of Keith fans who seem to believe that Shiro treats Keith poorly, or Shiro should have died and permanently stayed dead to benefit Keith. And, this person repeatedly bringing up Shiro's illness as a "justification" for scapegoating him positively reeks of the ableism every other "critic" of Shiro proudly flaunts like some kind of twisted banner.

But, at least they didn't tack on some homophobia just for the hell of it. Unless that's what referring to Shiro as the "Dumbledore of the franchise" was intended to be.

And, to cap it off and really, really drive home just how poor this person's media literacy is, they're utterly baffled by the inclusion of Adam in Shiro's backstory. As it seems to have entirely escaped them that Adam and his less than supportive attitude were there to illustrate that even Shiro's long-term boyfriend was ready to give up on him, but Keith never did.

Which Shiro knows, and verbally acknowledges.

"Keith, I was dreaming. Keith... You saved me."

I definitely lost braincells reading that screed of hostile idiocy. But, at the very least we can say we suffered through it together?

Treat yourself to your favorite beverage as a palette cleanser after enduring that cavalcade of stupidity. I know I'm going to.

[torturedblue]

It’s the middle of the week, have some dancing turtles

Spoilers below as I gush about my Mutant Mayhem Monday experience 🤗 please feel free to gush with me I wanna hear other people’s thoughts too!

First off… When Seth wanted to put the teenager in TMNT he meant it. Like, all the versions act like teenagers, but like Nickelodeon PG stereotypical teens. MM turtles were the realest PG-13 outta pocket 21st century teenagers I’ve ever seen and I love that shit because it’s the first time I actually felt like I was around the kids in middle school and high school again with the way they talk. Kinda appreciate Superfly cussing too? Like idk it’s Ice Cube and this villain goes hard tryna kill some teenage turtles he formally saw as his lil cousins, let the grown mutant cuss

Also uh, was not expecting to be sad so early in the movie? Like I could tell from the trailers it was gon be an emotional rollercoaster but shit like ten minutes in and these turtles are fuckin depressed. And to see it really hit me because in every other version (except for Bayverse) the turtles literally never let not being part of the human world get to them. In the shows especially they’re so well adjusted and never bothered by sticking to the shadows. Then there’s Rise where they pretty much go out whenever they want and indulge in most of the human world stuff they want to. For these guys to be so stunted and desperate to have more freedom was so heart wrenching. Especially when Splinter grounds them for a whole month and the reality sinks in of how much they know the life they want isn’t an option for them

Wasn’t expecting any kind of ship or romance but that crush Leo has on April hit me like truck because…… holy crap the Leo-April pair has never been a thing? On top of that this is only the second on screen black April we’ve seen and I’ve been a Leo kinnie across the board since day one so to see this combo of my favorite character liking a black girl is making me lose my mind 🥲 and like it got me thinking of several of my favorite shows and the single characters I kin in those and if they’ve ever had black love interests and it’s just still not a common normalized thing honestly.

I’m sure a lot of people aren’t excited for the prospect of ships coming back (especially after 2012 scarred us) but as a Leo lover and black girl it got me so excited to see something like this. I’m just hopeful and optimistic they won’t mess it up like a lot of shows do. The “this is just as friends line” already makes me a little worried bc that trope never has a good history but I have faith they’ll handle things tastefully and not make it toxic or messy

MURDER THE SHREKS!

“I assume you’d wanna be on camera. ‘Cause you have, like a very camera ready look…” OKAY SMOOOOOTH LEONARDOOOOOO 👏🏽

Could not stop laughing while he was shooting his shot my face was literally donnie’s restraining myself from bursting out laughing

Just a couple of my favorite questions that April wrote down for them:

“Do you carry salmonella?” Look I still don’t know wtf salmonella is but it’s the second time a TMNT iteration has joked about it so I’m starting to think it has something specifically to do with turtles 👀

“Have you caught covid?” Oml covid exists in this world

“Are you the source of covid?” OUT OF LINE 💀

“How many people has the red bandana turtle stabbed? Does he need therapy?” Yes.

“Does sunlight cause you to burst into flames?” They’re- they’re not vampires? 😂

Leon Ardo deserves the world and whatever he wants in it give him everything 😭

I will never understand what made Donnie laugh so hard at the name Nardo other than it being because it’s his sibling and that it bothers Leo lmao

All imma say about the puke scene is that I’m glad I heard an “out of context” spoiler about it bc I knew exactly when to look away and I’m glad I did bc the scene lasted for so long??? 😀❓But hey at least I had Unwritten to listen too while I was sparing my eyes 😂

The sequence of them going around and shaking down those gangs and Superfly’s connections. BAD. ASS. And each of them got their own moments to shine? Loved it. Like they each even got to take point and have their moments where they got to kick in the door lol. And the fight scenes were just, muah. Chef’s kiss, they all looked amazing taking grown ass adults down together

Okay Splinter definitely gets the best dad award for putting together that little surprise party, with all the celebrity Chris’s and pretending to wait on them 🥺 so pure. It did make me sad the guys immediately left and you can just see such a sad dejected look on Splinter’s face, knowing he can’t provide what his kids really want or make them happy enough without it 🥲 At the very least they say thanks and that they appreciate but I would’ve at least stayed for a lil bit and gone along with it, Splinter just looked so excited about it and it was so sweet 😭

And he doesn’t even get upset though he knows they’re hiding something, he just says he’ll help them if they’ve gotten into trouble, which is something I’m sure almost every kid has wanted instead of having the kind of relationship where they’re more scared of telling their parents they messed up instead of handling it on their own

I love how musical Superfly’s family is 😂 Ray Filet just starts sing-introducing his name and Mondo and the other couple mutants when they drive with in the car trying to find music they could all sing to together 🥹 not to mention the musical references Superfly makes later that I’ll get to. “Kinda don’t wanna murder everyone on Earth, I just kinda wanna sing” Me too bruh.

Raph immediately going “goochi goochi goo” and playing peekaboo with Genghis frog is so underrated that boy has such a soft side he’s not even that afraid of showing at times, and maybe it’s continuing the trope of Raph having a soft spot for pets/animals? Who knows 😌

Yo I was kinda shook when that government guy knocked Leo out and he just fell unconscious on the ground 😶 Like we’re used to seeing the authorities be brutal especially in movies like this but that’s a whole teenager? You just assaulted a minor? 🙂 Crazy

Also I know it’s sad they got captured and drained painfully but Mikey in that scene was hilarious 😂 like even the way he was dramatically crying and Leo was just started to cry with him like “iM sO sOrRy mIkEeEeEy! 😭” gold. When one of his children is hurting Leo hurts too. One of my favorite moments 🤣

They literally started singing BTS while being tortured they’re so unserious but like in a serious way to them and I love it. Also the fact that they did it just to make Donnie feel better? So pure. Like Raph of all turtles offered to sing while being drained of blood (bc I refuse to use the m word 💀)

The way Splinter snuck in and soloed literal government soldiers single handedly? Badass. Never loved seeing a Splinter save his sons so much 🥹

“But it’s the only way we’ll be accepted.”

“No! We accept you!”

“You can come live with us! We accept you!”

“WE VIBE!”

Oml they’re so puuuuure 😭 I really thought this was gonna be a moment where the guys invite them all to come live with them and Splinter was gonna be like ‘aha 😬 whoa slow down there’ but damn nah he was just as enthusiastic as them inviting all those mutants to come live in their home forever “The more the merrier!” Like ugh he just loves finding family like Baxter Stockman and we see where the guys got their loving nature from 🥹

The amount of his soul Mikey put into that BROSEEEPH was so real like I’ve never heard the name broseph be said in any other way, I’m so glad they put that moment in there

“New York, New York!” “I’m the king of New York!”

Oml superfly’s a Broadway baby 🤗 he’s a big bad villain marching through time square and talking about King Kong but he’s fill gonna nerd out and make his musical theatre references 😂

“For once in your life you didn’t sound lame. You actually started to sound like a leader”

“That was really heartfelt Raph”

I love the Leo Raph dynamic in this movie. Like they don’t always agree or understand each other but they will show love towards one another and show mutual appreciation

Something about any of the turtles shells cracking always gets to me for some reason like those are some serious permanent injuries so I want to see if they do anything special with that in the sequel or show maybe 🤔 And I couldn’t tell if all of theirs cracked or just one, and if so which turtle it was. I think Leo or Raph. I feel like it was Leo but Raph’s are also starting to have a trend of getting cracks in their shells so 🤷🏽‍♀️

Also I do not want to judge what other people like to wear but why are Raph and Donnie the only normal dressed ones 😭 like Mikey looks like he’s going on vacation and Leo looks like he’s going to clock in at Best Buy 😂 tell me it’s because they have limited resources for clothes lmao. HE’S LITERALLY WEARING A LANYARD

Them taking off the masks was crazy honestly… like them deciding not to wear them made my brain pause until I realize they’re kids going to school now and not being ninjas all the time… they don’t need them anymore. I’m just so pleased with the fact that this movie was willing to do what all other iterations weren’t. I see why they’re getting a sequel and show already, these guys and the plot development deserve so much more exploration

Maybe I missed something in the beginning but I’m wondering where Stockman went. Like is he still in custody? Did he die? Because not seeing him again that’s what I assumed but we only saw him get arrested or whatever, so if anything I don’t get why Superfly and the others wouldn’t try to break him out 🤔 I was surprised they didn’t make him a villain though, but I’m pretty happy about him getting to be a more optimistic kind character tho

SHREDDER HAD ME SHOOK LIKE THE ARMOR ALREADY LOOKED SO COOL AND I WAS NOT EXPECTING THEM TO GET THE BIG BAD INVOLVED AHHHH I’M SO READY TO SEE THEM REACT TO THIS ANGRY GIANT TIN CAN

Although I do wonder if Shredder’s gonna have some personal gripe with them since they have a different backstory he doesn’t seem to be a part of. And shit now that they’re public and in school it’s gonna be so much easier for him to go after them 😅 pluses and minuses…

The soundtrack: golden. Cultured. Nothing but range. Goes from a 90’s rap song to Natasha Bedingfield’s soulful 2000’s song. Most movies only ever have all pop mainstream songs or only rap songs because they think they can’t mix but MM does it effortlessly. The turtles are so versatile not just with music genres but they make old and new references ‘cause they’re well rounded kings 💪🏽 Between rizz, Adele, broski, Hey Arnold, K-Pop, Ferris Bueller, etc… I mean Donnie’s literally doing the sprinkler and the funky chicken in that gif up top 😂 they’re born in 2008 I doubt any kids today know about those dances anymore

Clearly I have all the thoughts and feelings about these boys and the movie, but I think this is probably my favorite TMNT movie? I’ve loved all of them but I think this one definitely brings me the most comfort fr

[butterflyscribbles]

So I haven’t talked nearly enough about Mutant Mayhem yet but I saw it for the second time a few days ago and they have consumed all my thoughts have some random headcanons I’m dying I have to talk about them more:

⚠️(Spoiler warning for MM as well)⚠️

April

- Lives with her mom and grandfather on her mother’s side. Raised by a single mom who’s a veterinarian and her grandpa, a retired tailor and clothing retail manager, moved in after her grandma passed away a few years ago.

- Listens to way too many murder mystery podcasts and thrillers are her favorite movie genre

- Practices doodling a lot in the sides of her journal or class notes. She’s inspired by courtroom sketch artists and old biology journals.

- Swears like a sailor. Even more than Raph. Tries to censor herself around them but it only gets worse the closer they become as friends

- Becomes a sort of ambassador for the turtles and other mutants in the city. Anyone who doesn’t approve of them, goes through her…

- Favorite subject is biology, outside of working on the school newspaper of course

Leo

- Big time book worm. Has read a lot of the classics like The Great Gatsby, Catcher in the Rye, etc. which gives him an advantage heading into high school. His favorite subject is literature naturally as a result.

- Autistic, practically canon but just putting it out there

- Like April, he’s got a sensitive stomach under pressure. Nausea flares up all the time, especially at the sight or smell of blood. They bond over it. Nothing brings two people together like commiserating that your tummy hurts all the time🤝

- Hopeless romantic. Had fallen head over heels for a few other girls he spotted up top even before April came along. She was just…different. He watches a lot of sappy romance movies too they make him feel all warm and fuzzy.

- Love language is words of affirmation big time. He’s always about hyping up the people he loves and will defend them through anything.

Raph

- He’s the team medic in this iteration. He’s no professional but growing up he had so many injuries from being a scrappy lil dude that he picked up on how to take care of ‘em on his own and of course shares that knowledge with his bros and April later. He’s surprisingly gentle when he needs to be.

- He’s the most prone to nightmares/night terrors. The fact that Raph was the one to go seek comfort from Splinter in the tots scene is so important to me.

- He and Donnie are the anime enthusiasts. Hasn’t seen as many as Donnie but it’s close.

- Scratching his shell gently, especially up by the shoulder blades, is like an automatic snooze button. He passes out within minutes.

- Second biggest crybaby to Mikey. It happens when he feels any emotion too strongly whether it’s happiness, anger, sadness, etc. and he hates it. Makes him feel weak, which is why there usually is a lot of punching involved too.

Donnie

- Can’t swim and is the only one who actively dislikes getting into the water.

- He and Leo have been studying how to speak and write Japanese together for years. Don has picked up a lot from all the anime he watches.

- Is the most emotionally open version of Donnie to date. He’s always telling his family how much he loves them without restraint and is the first to ask what’s wrong if he picks up on someone acting weird or trying to hide something.

- To compliment the above hc, he’s insanely observational, like Sherlock level. They don’t know how he’s able to do it but his attention to detail and his ability to take that and create plans and get a read on people is baffling. If Donnie doesn’t get a good vibe off someone, believe him and run the other way. (Makes him really good at those spot the different puzzles too lol.)

- Loves to dance just like his previous incarnation before him:’) Bootyyyshaker9001

Mikey

- Is actually afraid of cats…growing up with Splinter, who would freak out at the sight of them, only taught him to freak out along with him. They are sharp and unpredictable.

- Other than that however he’s an animal lover. Had a few pet fish through the years that he saved after being flushed.

- Practically canon but the most physically affectionate by leagues. Constantly seeking a brother, adopted mutant family member, or an April to cling to.

- Super into musicals and is a actually a decent singer

- Can take a punch like nothing you’ve ever seen and can still be standing….but gets sick constantly his immune system is wack

[acidichcl]

I love your Donnie. Easily one of my fave iterations. Honestly all your designs are so cute! Do you think we could please know more about him, too? 💜

Thank you! They mean alot to me and they make me happy so im happy you like them too!

Anyway, donnie. He's the brains and older brother of the group, often burdened with the responsibility of raising his younger brothers.

Sludge and baby Algae in the sewers before they met April and had their names changed to Donatello and Michelangelo

Donnie enjoys experimenting with technology and gadgets, often leading to mischief and chaos, whether its intentional or not. Despite him being mischievous and seemingly irritating, he's deeply caring and loyal. He's smart, inventive, resourceful, and does a good job at taking care of his younger brothers.

He has the caretaker mindset. Other than being good at tech, he's also good at cooking. But sometimes his brothers can be really picky with the food he makes and he hates wasting food, so he gives the food to casey and splinter, who just have enough to get by. When donnie saw their situation, he decided that whenever he has extra food/treats, he'll give them to casey and splinter.

He'll bicker with others alot (most often with irma) and give off this impression that he thinks he's better than everyone. He doesnt actually think that though.

He'll help others through his brothers (like telling them what to do to help) or act like he's nonchalantly lending a hand.

His help towards others, who are not his brothers, is driven by a sense of duty and responsibility rather than expressing warmth or affection. He thinks being nice is cringe and is totally not his style.

Also, he's scared of nice people. He's very open about his genuine love and care for his brothers cuz he's more used to them, but nice people who are genuinely kind? Terrifying

[dysfunctional-doodle]

Just watched Mutant Mayhem, here are my thoughts!

Overall: Yes, very good I suggest everyone watch it when they can or I will break your knees :)

I’m going to end up rambling far too much unless I split this properly, so I’m going to break it down into sections starting from what I believe is most important in a movie.

This post is still going to be a mess ngl

Story: 8/10

The story is actually very good! It was paced very well and ended in a very touching way. No character interactions or plot beats felt forced or cliché, and no forced identity politics which is always a plus.

The action scenes - of course they were amazing. Paired with the stellar animation, each action scene was brilliantly directed and choreographed. The start shows the turtles’ origin story is similar to most of the iterations with its own unique factors - in this case the ooze was created by Baxter Stockman.

The conflict of the plot was well written, the final act was great and ends with a hopeful and satisfying ending (there is a mid credit scene that teases something big for the series though!).

If it’s any consolation, it’s also very friendly to new fans of TMNT - I went with someone who has not seen any TMNT media before and they really liked it and understood it easily.

Characters: 9/10

Needless to say, all the characters were very well done. Despite its run time and large cast, each one feels grounded with their own unique personality.

For starters: the four main boys! They were done brilliantly - Mikey being hopeful and optimistic whilst naturally being empathetic, Raph channeling chaotic good energy with his iconic rage personality not being over the top, Donnie being a geek in the best way possible, and Leo trying to be a good leader and anxious, always looking out for his brothers but not a complete teachers pet. All very likeable, and I can’t wait to see them in the series!

Splinter: probably the best since 2003! Openly caring of his sons and worries a great deal about how humans will perceive them. Has his own trauma from his experience with humans so he tries to protect his sons by isolating them completely, but eventually realises that his own view of humans should not affect his son’s happiness and lets them fulfil their dream of trying to be accepted by humans even if he will never like humanity himself. Peak character development, 10/10.

Villain/s: all of them felt fleshed out and I look forward to seeing them in the series! Posed their own genuine threats with varying levels of morals. Again, all were fleshed out quite well and played a role in the story.

April: honestly, she didn’t have too much in it compared to the others but does play a key role in the final act and the ending itself. An interesting iteration of April, curious to see more of her.

Animation: 10000000/10

It was brilliant. What else can I say? Though inspired by Spider-verse it is its own style which is amazing to look at. It thrives in action scenes and landscapes. Another groundbreaking style that I hope to see influence others.

Music: 8/10

It slaps. Almost all of them I will be playing for the next week or so. The soundtracks really set the mood beautifully, especially the sombre track. Paired with the animation - ugh - chefs kiss

Overall Rating: 8/10

I am usually very very harsh with films, so for me to rate anything above a seven is basically unheard of. Probably my favourite movie of 2023, and my favourite TMNT movie. 2003 only just beats it overall but that’s mostly because I’ve known it for longer - who knows, a few more rewatches and it might overtake.

[tmntheadcanons]

Idk if you've already done this, but have you done how they would deal with panic/hard feelings?

I haven't yet! This one is interesting. I focused more on panicking/fear but I'll make another post for hard feelings, how they act when they're mad, etc. I was thinking about the 03 turtles when I wrote this mainly but it's sort of just my head canons for the turtles in general.

Leo:

I feel like when Leo panics, it's less visible. You might mistake his panicking for just general stress but in his mind he is losing it.

He'll get pushy and impatient.

He'll be anxiously pacing.

When he's starting to panic he starts desperately trying to keep track of everyone in his mind. His head will be darting around in all different directions because he's trying to keep tabs on everybody

In general though, I think Leo is good at keeping his head when he's panicking. He is able to filter out what is important at the moment and what isn't.

And I feel like Leo's panic response sort of hits after the situation has been dealt with. He will handle it in the moment and then the second it's over, he snaps.

His habit is bottling things up until he explodes.

After a high stress situation, Leo needs to be alone. He'll go some place private and just let it out. He won't do this around other people except maybe Splinter.

I could see after a particularly bad mission, he comes home and after everyone's been taken care of he goes into his room and cries for a good half hour. I feel like it would be kind of cathartic for him.

Or he starts replaying the situation in his head and spiraling into what-ifs.

It helps him to talk the whole thing out with Splinter.

Raph:

When Raph is afraid he gets snappy and jumpy. He'll be visibly on edge and probably pretty irritable.

When he is full on panicking I think he would enter a blind rage. Not out of anger but as a fear response. He'll start desperately attacking whatever the threat is. He loses his judgement pretty quickly.

The more panicked he gets the more impulsive and aggressive he gets

Also, notice how some iterations of Raph (I'm thinking bayverse and mutant mayhem) start making heartfelt confessions when he thinks they're all about to die? I feel like that's a Raph thing. In moments of high stress all his pent up feelings just come flooding out.

I think after a really high stress situation, Raph becomes pretty mellow. Also he'll get really tired. He might get upset about the situation again later but in the moment he'll just be exhausted

Afterwards, I could see Raph wanting to spend some alone time, but I could more see him wanting other people around. He'll want some quiet company. He might not say much but he'll stick around the room where everyone is. I think it would comfort him to just be in a mundane and safe environment with everybody.

Donnie:

When Donnie is scared he starts rapid fire thinking of solutions. He shuts everything else out and tries to laser-focus on whatever he's doing.

This makes him block a lot of stuff out and he might not notice or respond to things. He'll blank out for a second and go into his own head but eventually he'll snap back.

When he's panicking, and it's from something he can't solve or analyze, like something flying directly at his head, he'll freeze.

He might start overthinking or over complicating things. In really bad cases he'll be over thinking something so much he'll forget really basic information.

Donnie has the patience of a saint but if someone rushes him when he's under pressure he will obliterate them.

After a stressful situation, Donnie becomes a bit reserved. Like Leo, he'll start replaying the situation in his mind. He'll think about how he could have prevented it, if there will be any repercussions, if he did a good enough job, etc. He'll be a bit jittery and restless. He'll start bouncing his leg or shaking a little.

When he comes home he starts looking for a distraction. He'll be so in his own head he'll need something to distract himself from his own thoughts. He'll immediately start working on/researching something.

Mikey:

If Mikey is afraid, he will say so. Even if he is completely alone he will still say so out loud. He'll get jumpy and easily startled. He also uses humor to mask/cope with fear.

When he is anxious he fiddles with things in his hands, especially his nun-chucks.

But if he picks up that everyone is panicking, he'll force himself to calm down and become a bit more level headed. He'll become unusually serious and focused on whatever they're doing. He also might try to calm other people down, particularly Leo and Raph.

When he gets anxious he'll start slipping up and making stupid mistakes, and then he'll get insecure about those mistakes and start to spiral even more.

When he's panicking he gets flustered and frantic.

Afterwards he might be a bit shaken but he usually comes back down pretty quickly.

He likes to be around people afterwards. He's usually the one to lighten the mood and I think he purposely makes an effort to do that.

He'll be pretty good for a few hours but I think when he goes to bed or is by himself it will hit him again

Sometimes he'll read a comic or play a game or do something fun to get his mind off things

[turtleblogatlast]

Something I love to think about is every iteration of Leo’s relationship with Splinter and how Splinter’s interests always define how a Leo presents himself.

I used to abide by the idea that a Leo will simply emulate his Splinter directly, and to an extent I still believe that to be the case, but moreso I think Leos have a tendency to mold themselves into what they believe is their Splinter’s ideal son - someone who embodies all the traits Splinter has explicitly shown to admire or value in a person.

Most of the time, they try to be a dutiful and honorable boy abiding by the full extent of ninjitsu teachings. Then you have Rise Splinter, who very much still has undeniable prowess in the art of fighting and being a ninja, but when it comes to how he shows his interests to his boys…one thing reigns supreme.

Acting. Shows. One liners. Flamboyance in the name of gaining an audience’s attention.

He showcases Lou Jitsu movies on repeat for the boys, passing down the morals and words from those movies to them with no small amount of pride. All while fully expecting them to respect these teachings.

So, of course, Rise Leo picks up on this. He’s a Leo, after all, as much a daddy’s boy as any other variation of him, only he clocked his father’s interests to be different than most others. He picks up on the art of showmanship, of keeping things to himself so as to be a more exciting twist later, of treating the world as a set to act in.

He’s an actor, not just because Splinter himself was one, but because Splinter likes acting and showed one particular actor (unknowingly to the boys, it was himself) as the pinnacle of all his teachings. As someone to value and admire. And even more than that - Splinter focuses on the character the actor is portraying rather than just the man himself.

And I think this is all even more interesting when taking the turtle tot short into consideration, because very, very briefly, just as with many times else throughout the series, we see how easily Rise Leo aligns with his other selves, seeming to pick up the sword easier than his brothers do their own weapons - after quoting Lou Jitsu of course. After emulating his idol - the person who his father seems to admire so much.

Point being, it’s so interesting to see how Leos tend to mold themselves in one particular way throughout every variation - that being, what their father is shown to value most in people.

[skcirthinq]

Guess who read all (that's out, as of now) of TjLockticon's 'Last Grain of Sand in the Hourglass' and became ~invested in it~.

Not me. Definitely not.

And this is definitely not a sketch I went slightly insane over and like. Fully rendered.

And these are definitely not messy sketches that I gotta either post or ignore so I don't keep messing with them. ( Under a read more link, hopefully?)

Featuring (image 1) A rendered and colored piece of the future turtles' ghost forms, both their true to life and symbolic iterations, mirroring each other. The background is an interpretation of what the spiritual plane looks like in this fic, which is a cool space-scape. (2) sketch of the rendered piece of the future turtles' ninpo ghost forms. (3) F! Donnie and F!Mikey blasting the shit out of a certain kraang. (4) the immediate aftermath of that, in which F! Donnie is pretty thrilled, and the past cast is. Surprised. (5) Splinter and double-possessed Donnie having a stare-off during the spell. (6) The accidental (gender) egg cracking that comes with meeting your future self. (7) April coming to the horrifying realization that something is wrong with Donnie (He's not stimming!). (8) Special guest appearance of Leatherhead! (9) on one hand, Donnie might have symbolic ties binding him to the kraang that are trying to fully take him over. On the other hand, he finally made contact with his twin! Even if it's in the mindscape/spiritual plane. (10) Raph also gets a spiritual meet and greet with Leo! And some horrible trauma from what happened immediately before that but shush, it's fine!

Soooo. Anyway. If any of that sounds interesting, go read @last-hourglass if you're looking for a good post movie Rottmnt fic that features the past and future boys. It's not fully finished yet, but seems to be either gearing up for, or in the last act?

[afyrian]

no. 3 - a cosmic twist masterlist

    the cold metallic feel of the cabin door handle is familiar, in a distant kind of way. like a third cousin who you see every five years, familiar and yet unknown to you. even so, you twist the handle slowly, wondering what you'd find on the other side. bunk beds that have the same musty scent as they did years ago, or soft mattresses that are newly bought for the year. 

  upon finally opening the door, you can see just how different mr. kurosu made the cabins. the bunk beds have considerably thicker mattresses, spiders no where to be found. even little sockets are in the walls like some kind of hotel experience. all in all, it's leaning a little far on unfamiliar for you, chills running up your arms.

  as you set down your bag on one of the top bunks, you can really see just how much care he's put into the updates. like the wood is severely updated, no longer splintering in certain spots. however, some kids have already etched their initials into the wood, just like you did. the sharp lines and large letters really iterate the feeling of camp lockheart. the one you knew.

  you smile to yourself upon seeing the small details, finger running along the initials as you continue looking around the room. although, this inspection doesn't seem to last long as someone shows up outside your cabin door. the knock is softer than normal, a specific rhythm playing.

  you let out a sigh and open the door.. only to find osamu on the other side. truthfully, it had been forever since you'd seen him. and even now, with the baseball cap he dons, he looks eerily similar to atsumu. for a moment, part of you wondered if it was atsumu, hoping that he'd let up the act and apologize. however, the silver tuft of hair escaping his hat brought you back to reality. 

  "hey, long time no see..." osamu tries to give you a quick smile, "we're having karaage as the main dish but i remember you had some food sensitivities, so there are other options. just telling everyone who may not be able to eat it."

  internally, as soon as the words 'i remember' leave his lips, you want to scream. because for some reason, osamu miya, a man you barely knew, could remember your dietary restrictions. yet atsumu had messed with you every summer at camp and he suddenly forgets who you are. "uh- thanks miya. i really appreciate you and the other cooks taking care of dietary matters. which by the way, i can't wait to taste your cooking," you give him a smile, heel lightly tapping the ground. 

  "you can just call me osamu, easier when it comes to siblings.. speaking of which, i also have an itinerary for more specific events. as you and atsumu are caring for the older campers, you'll be having most of your events together. like tomorrow being a scary bonfire night," osamu dishes through the binder he was holding, grabbing out a piece of paper and handing it over to you.

  you quickly search over the whole page, looking at every time that had both yours and atsumu's names. which seems to be most of them, seemingly cursing you into a week of uncomfortable situations, "thanks.. again osamu. i'm sure the kids will love it. well, i believe i need to get down to the front of the camp for seeing them in, but it was nice to see you again."

  "you too, i'm sure you guys will have lots of fun this summer," osamu gives you a little nod, turning around to find the next person he needed to talk to. 

  a sigh escapes you as he walks away, realizing that when you applied for this camp, it wasn't necessarily for a hang out with your mortal enemy. however, the schedule that mr. kurosu set up doesn’t give you much time to fully grasp the sheer amount you’ll be seeing him.

  instead, you take in a deep breath and close the door to your cabin, walking down the path to meet your campers. the wooded areas still seem so beautiful. the way it helps separate the sections while still making sure that everyone can see each other. most of the understory is gone to help achieve this look, a few bits of moss and flowers still there. 

  as you make your way further down the path, you can see every cabin that you loved growing up in. each cabin, although similar on the outside, all had their own unique parts on the inside. however, atsumu’s was always right by yours, chucking rocks at the window. another thing that atsumu seemed to have ruined for you, something in him always wanting to mess with you-

  “woah, sorry there!”

  someone bumps into you, his voice all too familiar, “i was checking the schedule and wasn’t looking..”

  his voice trails off as he looks over at you, lips closed into a thin line. of course, even walking down a path will be another cosmic force will bring the two of you together.

taglist: @lemurzsquad a/n: wrote half of this half asleep so hope it doesn’t read weirdly

[pink-arcee]

I see you just got into TMNT now you started 2k3. That’s so cool. I know Donnie is your favorite but I want to ask for the iterations so far. What’s your opinion on each of the TMNT? Individually. /gen question

Oh my god prepare for a YAP

I’ll have this under a cut because this is a long one.

Okay so I’ve seen most of the TMNT iterations/parts of each one, plus I’ve read a couple of the comics. Overall Donnie is definitely my favorite, in each iteration, but second place shifts depending on the series. It’s honestly interesting because the first time I watched anything tmnt Mikey was my favorite with a Donnie as second place, but now Donnie’s my favorite.

1987 show:

I’ve only seen the first season, plus a couple of clips, so I don’t have a super big opinion on it. I’m planning on watching it all the way through eventually. So far it seems pretty funny, though I can’t hear Raph speak without thinking it’s Donnie. ‘87 was the one my dad watched so we’ve talked about it a couple of times. Shredder and Kraang are really funny, they act like an old married couple and it’s hilarious. Splinter is also really funny (“They named me Splinter, for obvious reasons” - that killed me). Shredder’s voice is certainly interesting but it works

1990’s movies:

I’ve seen the first one like 12 times, and the other two I watched a while ago so I don’t fully remember them. The first one is fucking phenomenal. Casey Jones’ intro was amazing, and as a kid I literally wanted to BE him. (Lowkey still do). It’s probably one of my favorite movies ever. The brothers’ dynamic, Casey and April’s dynamic, it’s all great. The Foot Clan looked awesome, Shredder was awesome. The way they dumped Raph into the damn bathtub. Amazing. Raph’s super loud “DAMN” as Casey ran off. My dad and I quote this movie on the regular. Mikey being a goofball the entire movie? (“Pork rind?” “Pork rind.”) Donnie doesn’t have as much characterization as Raph, but he’s still my favorite. Raph’s a close second. I’ve heard the second and third ones aren’t as good as the first one, but I’m still going to watch them soon. I’ve heard Casey isn’t in the second one which is actually tragic. I also heard that April’s actress changed, but I haven’t seen her so I don’t really have an opinion on that.

2003 show:

I’m almost done with season 2 of it, and so far it’s literally awesome. Donnie has once again claimed favorite, but Raph is again close behind him. I love all the angst. It has its goofy moments, but I like that the story is serialized as opposed episodic. I’m very excited for SAINW. Since Donnie is my favorite you all know I love Donnie angst and SAINW is basically a staple in Donnie angst. I really like the brothers’ relationships with one another. I also really like their voices, Leo and Donnie sound super similar. I also really like how impulsive Donnie is - he saw that portal in the Kirby episode and dove straight in like a dumbass and I love him for it. Leo being thrown through the window (classic Leo) was also funny as hell.

I also really like Splinter in it, I feel like he’s a lot more present than he is in some of the other series. In 2012 and Rise he’s mostly in the background but in 2003 he’s in most of the episodes. I like how often he jumps into the fight to protect his children as well. I’m used to 2012 and Rise so I wasn’t expecting him to be kicking ass in most of the fights, but here he is. I really like the artstyle of 2003 as well, it looks a bit like Young Justice and I was a huge fan of that show as a kid. April and Casey are awesome as well, April being a scientist was different but I liked it, she and Donnie can bond over their interests more. I also love himbo Casey - he’s got such a big heart, and even if he’s not the brightest he’s always trying. His and Raph’s relationship is iconic. Mikey is funny af as usual, though in 2003 he honestly gives Shaggy/stoner vibes, which works. I like how he’s actually one the best at ninjitsu, when they are sparring no one can really hit him. I like that the team is so close, everyone cares about everyone and there’s not a super big division in teams like in 2012. All in all I really love the show so far, and I’m very excited to see where it goes.

2007 movie:

I saw this movie once a long time ago, but I remembered I liked it. I finally found a way to watch it so I’ll probably watch it again once I finish 2003. I remember that there is a ton of angst in it (hell yeah) but since I haven’t seen it in a couple years I can’t really give a definitive opinion on it. From the clips I’ve seen, Donnie is still very much the favorite (“it’s not THAT kind of phone line!”)

Bayverse movies:

I’ll be so for real, I watched both of these movies in one sitting after 10 pm. It was interesting. It felt very off from how TMNT usually is, but I did like it. It’s definitely not my favorite, and there were a lot of parts I didn’t like (No Hamato Yoshi :( and why tf is Casey a cop???) but it was a pretty decent set of movies and I’ll probably watch them again eventually. It’s about the same as I feel with the Bay Transformers movies - they weren’t the best but they weren’t the worst things I’ve ever seen.

Donnie is still the favorite (“Well, you know the plan.” *jumps out of airplane*) and I think Mikey would probably be second favorite. He’s fun. I think Megan Fox is hot so I didn’t mind her, but I wish April actually had more of a personality. She seemed pretty bland, but it doesn’t really surprise me, the April writing seems to be pretty hit or miss. The turtles look… interesting. They’re very… tall… compared to their counterparts. The Shredder and Kraang kind of came out of nowhere in my opinion. It was a cool fight, though.

2012 show:

I just finished it, and holy shit it was honestly so good. Season 5 was kind of eh, but I loved the rest of it. Donnie is once again my favorite, with Raph at second. I really liked teenager Casey and April, and I also really liked how they let April learn how to defend herself. In a lot of the past iterations April has been a damsel in distress, but in 2012 she’s able to actually fight back. I wish we could have seen more of her struggle with her powers, especially more as she’s slowly possessed by the Aeon crystal. The Kraang’s dialogue was funny, and the Utrom reveal was cool. I was so sad when Splinter died (rip) I wish we could have seen more of their reactions to his death(s). The Space Arc was absolutely my favorite (which sucks because a lot of people apparently hated it). I wish there had been more of the Space Arc. I’m also a huge David Tennant fan so hearing him as Fugitoid was awesome. I liked how the brothers interacted, they bickered so much but it was never meant as more than jokes. Mikey intentionally pissing people off and then running was always funny.

I hated most of the love stories in 2012, Leo and Karai and April/Casey/Donnie specifically. Leo and Karai were called siblings several times (what were the writers on??) and it felt like April never had any actual chemistry with either of them. I loved April as well, so it sucked that they didn’t want to be consistent with her character/arc.

I was kinda iffy on Splinter, sometimes it felt like he was a great father but other times he made no sense. (Like grounding them all to the lair when they needed to stop the bad guys from destroying everything). I did like how he was willing to teach April and Casey even though they weren’t his kids, he taught April just about everything and helped Casey get better.

All in all, I really like the show. The animation wasn’t always the best, and the writing wasn’t always great, but I still loved it.

Rise, show and movie:

Rise was the first TMNT show I watched fully, and though I had seen bits of 2012, this was really my introduction to TMNT back in 2019. I love the show so much. Donnie is once again my favorite (as always) but this time Leo’s the second favorite. I really liked April and I wish we had seen more of Casey in the show before Junior showed up. I like when April is adopted into their family, so her being basically their sister was incredible. I really liked the way the brothers interacted with one another, and I really love the animation for it. I used Rise a lot to help me with my art when I was learning how to draw.

I wish we had gotten more of an overarching plot for Rise, but I did like what little of it we got. Rip Gram-Gram. I thought Splinter was an interesting take, but it made sense. Who wouldn’t becoming horribly depressed after being turned into a rat (especially after being a famous action star). I don’t think he was the best father, but he was trying towards the end. I liked what the writers did with the characters, they’re all relatively different than the previous iterations while still keeping some of the key components of each character. I liked how the Shredder was done, with him being more of a mythical creature than an actual man, and how he was possessed by the Krang’s armor (and the Krang were done so well)

The movie was amazing, I loved Casey Jr (so much angst potential) and the overall idea of coming back to see your family that doesn’t know you. It was such a cool way to have the Krang (and they were actually terrifying in Rise, in 2003 they were peaceful, in 2012 they were kinda dumb, but in Rise they fully murdered people on screen. Wacky.) I wish we had seen more Casey Sr - she was so cool and we didn’t even know she was Casey until the end. I wanted to see Casey and Raph bond :( Oh well, we have the fandom for that, I suppose.

Mutant Mayhem, movie and show:

I haven’t seen Tales yet (maybe after I finish 2003) but it looks promising. I loved Mutant Mayhem, it’s a very different vibe than the other ones (“Just getting a little silly here”) but it’s still pretty damn good. Donnie is still my favorite, with Mikey as a close second. This is actually the first version of the tmnt that is younger than me (I was about 12-13 when I first started watching Rise and I’m 18 now) so I was a little worried I wouldn’t like it because it’s for younger kids. Thankfully, I loved it. Definitely for younger people, but you know, it was still TMNT so I still watched it. It’s not my favorite version of them, but I’ll definitely watch it again.

I really wish Casey was in it (is Casey in Tales?) but April was so funny (“Yeah the longer you hide the more sus it gets”). I didn’t really like Splinter that much, but I also prefer it when he has a link to Hamato Yoshi (either by being him or being his pet) so I wasn’t too surprised that he wasn’t my favorite. Donnie was still peak though. I liked that they had teenagers playing them, even though I’m used to professional voice actors/adults playing them. I also liked how funky the art style was, it was similar to Spider-Verse and Spider-Verse was awesome.

The Last Ronin comic:

Oof oof ouch. Holy crap it’s so sad. Oof oof ouch.

In all seriousness, it was so good. I haven’t read the lost years, but I did read the normal comic and it was amazing. Horribly sad, but good. God, the way he could hear his brothers the whole time? The way he clearly blamed himself for what happened to them?

Casey Marie was amazing, and it’s so sad that Casey didn’t get to see his daughter grow up to be just like him. (To be fair, she’s almost a perfect mix of him and April). The ending was heartbreaking. The sudden descriptions of their deaths?

I don’t think the image of Casey’s mask on Leo’s swords will ever leave my mind.

IDW comics:

I’ve only read about half of the first volume, but it’s great so far! I’ve read Jennika’s story too, so I know a little bit from that as well.

Shredder and the Hamatos being reincarnated goes insane, by the way. I love the different art styles in the comics, they all look so good. I wish I could make posters out of every panel. April was once again a scientist, which is pretty cool.

Mirage comic:

I haven’t read the mirage comics, but once I get the money and I know where to find them I’m planning on buying them. They look awesome

Batman vs the TMNT:

I own the movie but I haven’t had the time to see it yet. I really want to, the art style is amazing and I really like the turtles’ new designs.

I feel like such a fake fan, I haven’t seen/read or only partially seen/read most of these. But yeah, I love TMNT and any excuse to yap about it I will take.

[nerves-nebula]

i scrolled through your Entire TM(N)T Tag and i simply adore it!!! as a kid i was a less intense version of leo (golden child) but i soon grew out of it and now i’m a lot more like mikey (craving violence) and it’s so interesting to see the two parts of myself coexist in separate people. if you wanna, could you expand on mikey and leo’s relationship and dynamics, both before and during the farmhouse arc? they just scratch my brain <3

(also sorry if the purple text is an issue tumblr won’t let me send it normally?? idk it’s [tumblr] lmao)

RIGHT SO!! buckle up cuz this gonna be a long one :P (part of the reason it took so long to answer sobbb. its too complicated so i kept putting it off)

before farm house:

Mikey found leo very frustrating, Leo got on his nerves with all his boasting and special treatment from Splinter. He also hated how Leo tended to boss them around after getting his Leader role. So Mikey tried to get on Leo's nerves as well (even if Leo wasn't doing anything to intentionally antagonize Mikey at that moment)

this means there's a lot of bad blood between the two, and they might be more antagonistic than is really warranted towards each other. this often ends up with Raph dealing with the brunt of Leo's frustration, cuz despite his anger, Leo wouldn't be able to justify attacking Mikey most of the time.

this is because Leo believes Splinter when Splinter rants to him about how disappointing his weaker siblings are. Leo doesn't think it would be fair of him to beat up on Mikey, even if he believes Mikey is lazy and rude and has no sense of self discipline. But Splinter always talks about how strong Raph is, so Raph is the one Leo feels ok with fighting. Leo fighting with Raph doesn't make Mikey like him any more, lol.

another aspect of their relationship is their competitiveness. Leo and Mikey are the most outgoing and competitive. A lot of raphs theoretical competitiveness has kind of been stripped from him in this iteration due to the sheer amount of stress and responsibility he's been given. it's kind of hard for him to have fun pretending a video game is super important when the slight stress of that makes him feel like he's in a life or death situation. Raph can have fun playing a game, but he'll drop it like a hot coal if it gets too stressful. And Donnie is just generally conflict avoidant, so competitive games aren't great for him.

So Mikey and Leo really only have each other to compete against, the others might tag along in whatever game they've devised but most of the time it's really just Mikey and Leo competing against each other. but since they also have a very REAL rivalry/grudge against each other, these competitions and games can get a bit out of hand or a bit too serious.

a third thing is that Mikey will often lose his temper and call Leo stupid. usually for believing in something Splinter told him. Leo finds this annoying because he sees it as Mikey lashing out because he's not as good as Leo. Cuz Leo's whole worldview is based around the hierarchy Splinter has built.

Meanwhile, Mikey is irritated that Leo can "fall for" Splinters abuse tactics so easily- mind you mikey is a bit more emotionally intelligent than his brothers, so it's not really their fault. but imagine how frustrating it is to see someone you love fall for textbook manipulation over and over. And then act horribly towards you because of something that YOU WARNED THEM AGAINST BELIEVING!!

like that's not really how manipulation works, and they're all kids so its not entirely Leo's fault, but it's hard not to resent someone when you see that the reason it works so well on them is because they benefit from it. it's hard not to feel like they value that privilege more than they value you.

shredder arc (leading into the farm house):

So by this point, Mikey's kind of tried more to be less outwardly cruel to Leo, since he's now gone through Leo's mind and knows Leo is so manipulated that he doesn't even realize Splinter is abusing him. They fight a lot less in the years leading up to/before the farm house, since fighting enemies as a team had kind of forced them to trust and understand each other a lot more.

still, the events leading up to the farm house have kind of brought up old wounds- specifically, the split between Leo and his brothers. Leo spent months trying to convince his brothers that Shredder was evil. Mostly for selfish reasons, and in doing so was incredibly insensitive to Donnie and his other brothers pain at the realization that Shredder was, in fact, up to some suspicious shit. His brothers felt more at home with the foot clan than with Splinter, so they're really hurting, and they hate the idea of going home and having Splinter and Leo rub it in even more.

Donnie in particular feels like he just lost another chance at a better family, like he just brought his brothers into another trap, like no one would ever actually genuinely want to be his family. like he's stuck with splinter. forever. so he's (not for the first time) seriously suicidal. Which Raph and Mikey are concerned about, and Leo doesn't really get the seriousness of at first.

farm arc:

SOOO after Leo begged to be allowed to come to the farm house, things are tense. Leo now understands that his relationships with his bros are worse than he realized, and he needs to be on his best behavior around his brothers. He ends up treating all of them with the same level of deference he would treat splinter, which is really weird.

BUT THIS IS SUPPOSED TO BE ABOUT HIM AND MIKEY, SO TO GET BACK ON TRACK- Mikey kind of regresses back to being more childish, trying to get a rise out of Leo, which doesn't work at first. he does eventually end up provoking Leo into snapping at him, and Mikey gets even more aggressive in response (because none of them are in a good headspace at the moment) basically saying that Leo will always be like this if he doesn't stop faking being a better person.

Leo is frustrated to the point of tears because he's exhausted from walking on eggshells for weeks and he can't figure out why Mikey won't just let him act the way he was told to act !! Eventually, after a few rough confrontations, Mikey manages to explain that they don't want Leo's submission or anything- they just want him to be LESS MEAN ALL THE TIME. which includes un-learning what Splinter has told Leo about his brothers.

and, even more important than that, includes Leo talking about his own feelings. AND EVEN MORE IMPORTANT THAN THAT!! includes Leo accepting that Splinter isn't always right and has, in fact, REALLY HURT his brothers!!

and this is a lot, but it mostly only happens because Mikey is willing to try (in his own messy, imperfect way) to confront Leo. Donnie is too emotionally hurt to do anything but dissociate and run away, and Raph doesn't have the energy to try to facilitate change within the family this way. He can help the discussions progress, and help the turtles communicate with each other, but Raph doesn't have the emotional will to force Leo to take that first big emotional step.

after farm house:

funny enough, their competitive nature facilitates a lot of camaraderie with each other once they stop treating each other as ONLY adversaries. they can safely be aggressive in a joking way with each other, they can compete without any hurt feelings, it's pretty nice. Leo also feels comfortable asking Mikey for his opinion on stuff, cuz he knows Mikey won't sugar coat things too much.

there are a lot of small issues they gotta deal with every now and then though. for example, Mikey's habit of irritating Leo led to a bit of transphobia growing up. Not because Mikey had transphobic ideas of gender (he's agender himself, he never really understood gender and never will) but because he noticed it irritated Leo and he was a kid and didn't understand the rhetoric he was parroting.

so a lot of Leo's internalized transphobia doesn't just come from Splinter, but also from his brother, who he lives with. and that's rough.

and the way that Leo will still catch himself either implying, thinking, or straight up just saying that he thinks Mikey is dumb. even if he 's saying it in an offhanded way like "lol your so stupid" it's still really hurtful to Mikey, who was told his entire childhood that he was dumber and lazier than his siblings, and that's why he didn't matter. it bothers Mikey a lot more than most of them realize and takes Mikey a while to voice his discomfort, because he feels like even being insulted by it is, in and of itself, trivial and dumb.

but outside of those unfortunate issues, they get along really well! Mikey encourages Leo to indulge in silliness more.

SOOO thats the gist of things. i think.