#donnie is such a nihilistic turtle

[kaminofunee]

One of my headcanons is that Donnie's favorite videogame is Outer Wilds 💫

And Leo's is Stardew Valley, obviously

[gornackeaterofworlds]

Know that I am gently batting you around for being amazing!

How about number 37 and 10 for any oc or oc’s of your choosing! ^W^

Know that I am consuming you whole in one big bite btw

10. If your character is an antagonist or something of the like, do they self-justify their actions? If so, how?

Marvel OCs:

Eva: She doesn't necessarily cross that territory once the lab holding her prisoner dissipated, but during training she did anything it took to make them happy, crossing any lines. When first brought into the program she'd refused, and so they found that if they hurt Evan, they could convince her to do what they wanted. So that's how she justifies any deed she feels guilty about throughout her life, that it's for Evan, to protect Evan, she gets to shuck the blame of the choice if it's for Evan.

Evan: He is a lot more intentionally morally grey than Eva. He was a terrified little boy before, but after learning about his dimension(9591), seeing Eva cause so much pain for his sake, spending years as a prisoner, he gets a very nihilistic streak. His mindset is that everything he does is just for his own survival, his own gain, and while it causes a little guilt, he rationalizes his actions with "it's worse for people in my/other dimension(s), so people here shouldn't complain." Refusing to allow empathy helps also.

TMNT OCs:

Anni: Huge antagonistic streak, but she swears nothing is her fault! It's all for a purpose, for the end goal! Illegal activities galore. Her defense? "The government sucks anyway." Emotional manipulation? "I simply had to, it's the only way to do/get [object]!" I don't think I made it very clear in my fic, and part of that was intentional, but she's a very manipulative, sly person. Though I'm taking a break, in one of the two posted chapters she manipulates Donnie into getting his phone number and getting to come over another day. Also outright coerces April into seeing the turtles, but that's worded more obviously. Barely thinks about the repercussions of these things until later, and it leads to deconstructing her child abuse.

Millie: It's all her traumatic past, promise!! Not a very big bad girl side, most of her "antagonistic" actions are more like lies by omission. Hiding things. Stealing. Doesn't like to burden others, especially her friends, with things that are so petty in comparison to their issues. Also slightly manipulative, but more of a "pulling very small specific strings to get the reaction she wants" way, like Anni's smaller manipulations. Rationalizes by playing dumb/ignoring it or just thinking that it's very small, inconsequential, but also doesn't want to haunt them.

37. What does your character want to change about themselves?

Marvel OCs:

Eva: Pre-main battle, slightly guiltily wishes she wasn't a mutant. Though for her, it's more about "if I wasn't special, I wouldn't have been brought to this dimension, and Evan wouldn't have gotten hurt because of me." Post-main battle, there's not a lot she'd change. Still holds onto that past sentiment, but in regards to the deceased 616 Eva instead of Evan. During this arc, she tries a lot of things and explores herself a lot, so there's a lot of self-love there.

Evan: Doesn't want to be a mutant, and this is very consistent throughout his life. He never goes back to 9591, but he's heard about it from other dimension-travelers and from Eva, who visited one time(and was veeery careful not to use her powers there). Terrified every day that the curse of that dimension will still affect him, so he's very hesitant to use his powers. Thankfully it doesn't affect his looks, so he can pretend, but because he's stuck by Eva's side, he's a little forced to use his powers on the team(though that ends after the main battle, since she's in the hospital, he kinda does whatever he wants and really likes being an average person)

TMNT OCs:

Anni: Her childhood her childhood her childhood. PLAGUED by "what if I was a normal civilian". Without getting into spoilers, she does eventually tone down the international criminal persona, even brokering a deal to go into witness protection while staying in New York(it helps that her main partner in crime(literally), her father, is dead)

Millie: Kinda...everything? In most iterations of Millie I've made, like for Rise, she doubles as a spidersona, and in those iterations she wishes she had been a normal human so she could've died with the rest of her dimension(she's a little stuck wandering the multiverse to find a dimension where the Krang lose..) In the iterations where she's typically not spiderman, like Bay, she'd probably change her looks or entire lifestyle to be prettier or more interesting. I'll admit she's a self insert bc I'm cringe shush. And that's what I'd change, so it applies to her as well.

[officiallyashley]

TMNT-VERSE INFO— the different versions of harley jade hamato

NOTES: bro, i tried my best with the 1990 & Bayverse face claims, but it was super fucking hard to find them so i went with what i had lol. harley is the eldest/first child of ash (my oc) and raph. next, are their twins, steele ace hamato and tessa cerise hamato, and then finally whitney snow hamato. for harley and whitney, i made picrew icons for them since they take after their mother, while steele and tessa are mutant turtles like raph. i'll do headcanons on my ocs at some point in the future that adds various more details to their characters.

WARNINGS: mentions of getting mugged, getting stabbed, anger issues, over-exercising, undereating, anxiety, mentions of self-destructive behavior, nihilistic thinking, overuse of social media, avoidance as a coping mechanism, mentions of pregnancy. 

𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐫: 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐦 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐲, 𝐰𝐚𝐲, 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐞, 𝐨𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦. 𝐦𝐲 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐟𝐮𝐧, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐬, 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬. 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐞𝐝, 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐨𝐲!

{~~~}

2012 HARLEY:

2012 Harley looks like her mother, but she acts like her father. This version of Harley has anger issues, and while she does get triggered by others, her anger usually originates from being frustrated with herself. Harley is snappy and she has the tendency to be a little vulgar and outspoken. 2012 Harley tends to be more of a realist, like her mother, Ashley, and deeply cares for her family (even though she doesn’t always show it). She tends to think about things realistically and logically, being somewhat pragmatic about how she goes about things. Even though she has her pragmatic moments, there have been times when she is more impulsive in nature, which often gets her into trouble. When she’s upset in any way, Harley tends to immediately go to training. However, this has led her to over-exercise and undereat. Ashley found out that she was pregnant with Harley a few months after Splinter had died.

2007 HARLEY:

This version of Harley is actually pretty quiet. However, she tends to internalize her anger and that leads to her lashing out at her family a lot. 2007 Harley is sassy and witty, and she has a dry sense of humor (much like Rise Donnie does). There are moments when she can come off as dull, blunt, and uninterested. This version of Harley has bad anxiety, so she has a very hard time meeting new people. This is also the only version of Harley that has purple hair. Sometimes she’ll fully dye her hair, sometimes she will only do streaks in her hair. 2007 Harley also has a Brooklyn accent, just like her father. 2007 Harley has a particularly close relationship with her Uncle Casey and her Uncle Mikey, and she often goes to one of them if there’s something wrong. She’s also very inventive, often helping her Uncle Donnie with inventions in his lab, and she’s very attached to her electronics. 2007 Harley is two years old in the 2007 TMNT movie.

2003 HARLEY:

2003 Harley is the most egotistical and bratty of them all. Like, I love her, but holy shit is she a little shit at times. Harley has the tendency to come off as cocky and a know-it-all. However, 2003 Harley is confident and sure of herself. She tends to give so much confidence to others, supporting them in any way that she can. Even though she has a confident persona, on the inside, Harley is very anxious and on edge. That’s because of an incident that occurred when she was 15 years old where she and her Aunt April were mugged, and during that incident, Harley was stabbed and nearly lost her life. There are moments when her anxiety does show through, but she does a relatively good job of keeping her trauma concealed underneath an assertive and unperturbed demeanor. Ash and Raph found out about Harley at the end of the show, and in the TURTLES FOREVER movie, Harley is one-year-old. 

ROTTMNT/2018 HARLEY:

Overall, ROTTMNT Harley is very kind and helpful. She’s one of the only versions of Harley, next to her 1987 counterpart, that is kinder than the other Harleys. Like her mother, Ash, Harley has a sense of gracefulness about her, and she can often come off as very mysterious to others, as she is very calm and collected and she knows how to mask her feelings. I would say that ROTTMNT Harley’s character is similar to Mira’s character from Fairy Tail. She’s warm-hearted and flexible, as well as analytical and soft-hearted. Typically, Harley is peaceful and amicable, but if you piss her off, she’ll fucking blow up in your face. ROTTMNT Harley is definitely the mother out of the next generation (much like Raph is to his family). Rise Harley is a quieter version compared to others, but she has no problem speaking up when she feels like she needs to. Even though she has a hospitable persona, when Rise Harley is pissed, she’s PISSED. Similar to the 2007 version of her, this iteration of Harley is close with her Uncle Casey and her Uncle Mikey. Rise Harley was around a year-and-a-half when the Kraang invaded. 

COMIC HARLEY:

The comic version of Harley is a lot like her mother in personality and looks. She has her father’s eye color and gets her hair color from her mother’s side of the family. Harley is snarky and terse, and even though she has a cold exterior, she is extremely loyal and wants the best for everyone. She’s aggressive and loud, frank and extremely vulgar, and assertive and incredibly knowledgeable. When handling trauma, Harley tends to be more unpredictable yet very silent. Whenever Harley goes silent, everyone knows that something has happened and it’s a little alarming. This version of Harley is incredibly independent, and she often doesn’t follow the rules that are given to her. 

1987 HARLEY:

The 1987 iteration of Harley is one of the kinder versions compared to her counterparts. She’s more amiable and personable with others, but that doesn’t mean that she still won’t kick someone’s ass if they’ve wronged her or any one of her family members in any way. 1987 Harley is the most hyper iteration out of the others. She is also extroverted and loyal. She’s more optimistic— not as much as her younger sister, Whitney, though. This version of Harley is the only version with heterochromia and who dyes her hair white. 1987 Harley has ADHD, and she has a stubborn side to her. Harley is charismatic and spontaneous, as well. She tends to be in denial about stressful things, and she avoids taking actions that would trigger her, which is a big red flag for others around her. Everyone discovered that Ash was pregnant with Harley at the very end of the series. 

1990 HARLEY: face claim; arden cho

Oh, shit, is 1990 Harley Hamato super sassy and outspoken. This woman has a very sharp tongue, and she doesn’t try to hide it. 1990 Harley is more reckless than the other versions of her, and she tends to dwell on the past and everything she’s gone through. Harley makes light of her troubles through humor, and she can appear to be quite distant at times. 1990 Harley is impulsive and often the lone-wolf of the family. However, even though she isn’t the most approachable person in the world, 1990 Harley is highly empathetic towards others. Everyone found out that Ash was pregnant with Harley at the very end of the series. 

2014/2016/BAYVERSE HARLEY: face claim; erika tham

Bayverse Harley is very headstrong and intelligent. She can be defiant and rebellious at times, often not thinking ahead in situations. Outwardly, Bayverse Harley tends to act more aloof and attitudinal. Harley tends to internalize her feelings like her mother does, and she does have her childish moments. Harley is viewed as the most fearsome and aggressive of the next generation of Hamatos, and she’s also the voice of reason. Much like her 1990 counterpart, Bayverse Harley is highly empathetic. Harley is also incredibly good at reading other people, and she likes to call others out on their bullshit. This version of Harley tends to be more self-destructive and procrastinates, having a nihilistic outlook when times are rough for her. She also tends to overuse social media as a way to distract herself from stressful situations. Ashley discovered that she was pregnant with Harley during the events of the TMNT: OUT OF THE SHADOWS movie (aka the 2016 movie). 

𝗰𝗼𝗽𝘆𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 © 𝗼𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆𝗮𝘀𝗵𝗹𝗲𝘆 2022. 𝗶 𝗱𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗼𝗿 𝗽𝗹𝗼𝘁 𝗽𝗼𝗶𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗺𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗮. 𝗶 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗺𝘆 𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀, 𝗽𝗹𝗼𝘁 𝗽𝗼𝗶𝗻𝘁𝘀, 𝗲𝘁𝗰. 𝗺𝘆 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗳𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗼𝗽𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗹.

[we-rate-tmnt]

Give us the Donatellos!

Donnie is my favorite so Imma be super biased on this one. Maybe I like smart guys or maybe purple is my favorite color, you’ll never know!

Up first, the og ‘hehe turgle’

Donatello (1987)

Yeah I’m sorry for making this 

First of all, not the biggest fan of his voice. It has a bit of a whiny quality to it, and I’m not about all that jazz. His gismo’s look pretty lame a lot of the times, either it’s a grey box with some buttons, dials and flashing lights or looks like it was pulled directly from Lost in Space. Still a cute design but he felt pretty bland and seemed to be used for plot convenience most of the time. To put it simply, he was cute and essential but kinda bland. I’m always really harsh on this version because it’s so painfully dated and cheesy, which ain’t my cup of tea, but what can I say be hehe turgle.

5/10

I had a crush on this Donnie so you know that this is not remotely close to a fair rating but eh, I love him and yall do too

Don (2003)

His voice, such a huge improvement. I’m really sound-oriented and I often like to play a game of ‘I’ve heard the VA before, but which role?’ when I watch cartoons and I don’t mean to brag, but I’m pretty good at it. So when I heard that soft, caring voice, ten year old me was head over heels. Which is one quality I love about him. His heart is so huge, like I can think back to a bunch of side characters and most of them were introduced through Don helping or knowing them. The Atlantians and the homeless in the show owe so much to Don, but he goes out of his way to make sure that they are alright. In the last season (which everyone hated but I actually really liked so fuck me I guess), Splinter is lost into tiny pieces across the web and Don blames himself and goes without sleep and food for days to bring him back. It broke my heart, and I’m pretty sure a lot of others, to see him like that.

On a lighter note, I vaguely remember this one scene where the triceration dude is like ‘you did this!’ and Don’s like ‘I did? Good for me then.’ and had a very pleased grin on his face right after. I don’t know why, but that killed me. Bless Don and his rare, but excellent, comebacks.

He really does so much and there were quite a few episodes focused on him. He also had quite a bit of character development, not as much as Leo, but whoever gets any more development whatsoever besides Leo?

I love him he’s amazing protect him/10

Next up is the Donnie that helped me love my old gap tooth.

Donnie (2012)

Voiced by the very talented Rob Paulson, this Donnie goes back and forth from really great character to eh. The whole April thing was just kinda strange to me and I don’t really think it added anything other than some interesting Casey and Donnie banter. His crush was really strong the first two seasons and came off as stalkerish almost. Although I’m guilty of having a picture of a crush as my lock screen once as well, so I can’t judge that much. I really liked that they actually addressed this when Bigfoot had a crush on Donnie and he realized how April felt. Yeah, that episode was weird and just didn’t make any sense, but it really helped Donnie gain a new perspective and made him go from super crush to (mostly) hidden pining. He has a nice design as well, especially with the gap tooth. I used to have one and was really embarrassed of it but whenever I saw that Donnie had one, I thought it looked neat and I started to see myself in a more positive light. It’s closed up now, but I can still spray water between the little bit that’s left as a parlor trick. But seriously, what the FUCK was up with Don visiososoos whatever tf his name I I don’t understnad my tiny brain don’t understand why my purple boy tried to kill this dude who looked like he should’ve been wearing a red jumpsuit in the background of a pixar robot love story. Anyway, my tall gap tooth son, ily.

7/10

Then, the barely changed but fantastic

Donnie (Heroes in a Half Shell: Blast to the Past)

Baby but Bastard at the same time purely because of the ‘Anyone who bothers me, ejector seat button’s right there’ line. 

10/10

Now this version has one of my favorite designs out of all the Donatello’s!

Donatello (2014/2016)

They put a lot of thought into his design psychically, the long body, the near-constant look of surprise and curiosity in his features, the gadgets made of common objects, the wraps on his arms, I would love to be able to think of and make those kinds of details! It was all really well thought out and he stood out since he wasn’t as bulky as the rest of the turtles. I really like the little lines and the actor did a fantastic job on the delivery and really made the character come to life. Some favorites: ‘Ohmygod, they have guns’, the little awed, snorty chuckle when he flips a car over with his bo staff, ‘doitdoitoitdoit im not gonna stop til you do it doditdoit’ and when he straight up yeets himself out of a plane. He has a genuine curiosity in everything he does and I think he might be my favorite version. It’s hard to choose when it comes to Donnie because he varies so wildly. But for detail, voice and writing alone, definitely the 2014 Donnie.

8.5/10

Next up is God himself

Donnie (2018)

Chaotic as all hell, like I can’t think of a more chaotic character from ANY of the versions other than this Donnie. I have a lot of thoughts about his character in general, from design, to psychology and complexes. First and foremost, Donnie is a softshell turtle, meaning he has a DOPE battle shell and overall looks pretty damn neat. Although, I think that just the fact he’s biologically weaker has caused him to put up a lot of boundaries between him and his family and friends. He can’t be incredibly strong like Raph, agile like Leo or fast like Mikey and even though he brags about being smart, he feels almost beneath his brothers and strives to outdo them in any way he can. He wants to show them that he’s just as, if not more so, talented and feels overlooked because his inventions become ‘too smart’ or ‘too over the top’ and even the ones that work out incredibly well are written off for flashier projects. 

He depends on technology and feels like that's all he has, and (ironically enough) he’s built up a shield around him. He acts confident and narcissistic and has an almost nihilistic outlook, but he’s frustrated and feels inferior and wants validation more than anything. I came up with this theory when I saw the episode Turtle Dega Nights. I know that the scene was meant for Donnie to express how he feels about Splinter lying about the event and believe that he didn’t genuinely want to hang out with his sons, but that kind of thing feels like it’s been built up over time, like he’s been lied to before about the true meaning behind something. Something like, oh idk, how great his inventions are? Or how helpful he really is? Or how talented he is? Just sayin. Also ngl I might be self projecting a bit, but mmm. Also he has so much purple on him and it’s wayyy more accurate compared to just a purple bandanna bc people who like purple GO ALL OUT. A friend told me this and I thought ‘nah thats not true I like purple’ but then I looked down to find my dyed purple jeans, purple vans and my favorite hoodie, also purple. A really chaotic version but he seriously needs a hug.

9/10

Storytime: One time my friend dressed up as Donnie the same year I was dressing as April O’ Neal and we didn’t even plan it. It was fantastic.

Thank you so much for sending this in! Sorry it’s taking me so long to get around to these! I’m so glad you guys are liking my blog and my opinions!