#i have been in the TMNT fandom since the beginning

[brightlotusmoon]

Okay, TMNT Fandom.

I saw a post by a young fan saying that the Ninja ninja Turtles were now as old as their parents at forty. So I'd like to know who else is as old as or older than the ninja turtles franchise.

I'll start: in 1984 I was five years old. I saw the cartoon in 1988 and fell in love and I'm still there, in love. It's really deep. I don't think I can climb out.

Goobers.

[brightlotusmoon]

Me, in a TMNT Discord:

"Mirage Mikey being manipulated into sex, tricked into thinking the eggs were his, and turning into a POW Space Cowboy without his family still upsets me."

Me, on Tumblr: Wait, can we talk about that? Can we talk about how the events in The Path are a tight thread connecting to The Last Ronin? Can we talk about how Michelangelo has always been The Mascot and the Kiddy Fave and now he's literally the most tragic and heartbreaking? How what if Kevin was remembering POW Mikey as he developed Last Ronin more?

[brightlotusmoon]

Me on Facebook:

*folds hands, leans into microphone*

April O'Neil was based on and named after a black woman. She was whitewashed for the toys and cartoons. You're just fucking racist because she's black again in the new film and it makes you sad. You miss your boobtastic redhead in yellow, I know.

Immediately, A Stranger: "Ugh, these things are so woke. I'm not even going to see the movie, it just looks stupid and the turtles look like moronic frogs and"

Sorry, can't hear you over the blocking.

[aquietwritingcorner]

Unexpected Patient

For @tmnt-write-fight for @dandylovesturtles

Title: Unexpected Patient Prompt: Outsider POV of anyone getting rescued by the turtles  Fandom: TMNT 2003 Word Count: 2855  Author: aquietwritingcorner/realitybreakgirl Rating:  T Characters: OC (Samantha Craik, Peter Craik), Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello, Michelangelo, Casey Jones Warning: NA Summary: Samantha Craik did not expect for a stop at a corner store on her way home from her shift at the hospital to put her in life-threatening danger, but it did. She also didn’t expect for the life-threatening danger to put a new patient in her lap, but, well, it was, apparently, a night of unexpected things. Notes: Sam is a character I’ve had around in some form since I was 13, and Peter since my early 20s. I have fun sticking her in fics here and there. This isn’t their first appearance in TMNT fics, as I lent the both of them out to some friends in the late 2000s for their Fast Forward fics. Unfortunately, those are long lost, which is a shame, really. Back up your favorite fics, y’all! ff.net || AO3

___________________________________-

Unexpected Patient

Samantha Craik cursed in her head. She’d have cursed out loud, except she was positive that saying anything out loud right now was not a good idea. Normally this wouldn’t have stopped the fiery red-head, but there were children in this store and the last thing she wanted was for anyone to get hurt on account of her temper. Her blood boiled as these punks pushed through the store, demanding money from people and stealing from the shelves. Stars, Peter was gonna kill her. She should have just gone on to the subway station after her shift at the hospital ended and made do with whatever food they had there instead of stopping for a quick snack.

One of the gang members brandished a knife at her. “Hey—gimmie your money.”

Sam glared at him, but reached into her purse and pulled out her wallet. He swiped it from her, opening it, and then frowning. “This is it?” he said.

“If you think I had money, do you think I’d be working at this hospital?” she shot back at him jabbing a finger towards the hospital’s crest that was on her lab coat. “I’m barely out of residency! I’ve still got loans to pay off!”

“Tch.” The punk looked at her disdainfully. “I’ll make more money hocking this wallet then what you have in it.”

“Well pardon me for being poor!”

The punk gestured with his knife. “Get over there with the others!”

Sam made her way over to the other customers, one of the punks taking a moment to look at her. Sam narrowed her eyes at him. Yeah, she recognized him. He was a Purple Dragon, and he’d been in and out of her ER a few times. Several of these guys had. And yet, here they were, doing the same crap that got them in her ER to begin with.

“Hey—you got that money yet?” the guy called out, clearly their leader.

“Yeah. Getting the last of it now,” a green-haired punk called out.

The leader nodded and turned back to look at them. There weren’t many people in the store. Sam hadn’t expected there to be, not this late. There was the cashier, a teenager who looked far too stoned to properly see the danger everyone was in; a man who appeared to be in his late sixties, leaning heavily on a cane in a way that told Sam he probably was going to need a knee replacement soon; a young immigrant woman and her two children, none of which seemed to understand much English, but clearly understood the gestures with the guns and knives; and her, a thirty-year-old doctor, straight off of what was supposed to be a twelve hour shift that had turned into a fifteen hour one instead, because sometimes that’s just how it was.

Maybe her mother was right, and she should see about transferring to one of the hospitals in the richer areas of the city.

“Hey!” a punk from outside came running in the door. “The nut with the hockey mask is coming! And you know what that means.”

The leader cursed, and Sam found herself really hoping that the kids didn’t understand English.

“I was hoping not to deal with any green freaks tonight. Alright—bag up what we’ve got and let’s get out of here.” He looked at the group. “And just for good measure—”

He leveled the gun at the old man, and Sam realized just what he was about to do. She moved, shoving his arm up. Was it the smartest thing she could have done? No. Was it what she did anyway? Yeah.

“Leave him alone, you fracking jerk!”

The shot missed, pinging on the light fixture instead, and the man growled and tried to shake her off. In for a penny, in for a pound, she figured. Sam threw herself into fighting him, something that she wasn’t completely useless in. But she was no fighter, and it didn’t take long for the punks to have her pinned to the ground, the gun on her.

“Let go of me you fricking punk!” she snarled, still fighting.

“Since you’re so eager,” the leader said, and she could see him aiming the gun at her out of the corner of her eye, “then you can be the example.”

Oh yeah. If she made it through this, her husband was definitely going to kill her.

Still, she growled and struggled, not willing to just give up and give in.

And then the door slammed open, and something burst in.

“It’s the freaks!” someone shouted, and the gun was suddenly off of her and fixated on something else, going off as a fight broke out.

Sam wasn’t a stupid woman, and she knew an opportunity when she saw it. Despite the grip the man that was still holding her had on her long hair, Sam twisted in his grasp, kicked him right in his junk, and then twisted her head to bite the hand that still had her shoulder. The man let out a gasp, and Sam rolled, not getting to her feet, but scrambling back and away from things.

The woman with her children were cowering, and Sam looked them over, trying to find any sort of cultural distinguisher on them. She knew a few words in different languages, and she hoped she guessed the right one.

“Go!” she said, her accent terrible, and pointed towards the storeroom door. The woman’s eyes lit up in understanding, and she grabbed her kids’ hands, speaking rapidly to them and tugging them with her. They all moved like they had escaped violent situations before, but Sam didn’t have time to spare more than an observation about that.

The stoned teenager must have had more sense than she thought, because he was gone, and the old man, seeing where the woman had gone, was already following along. Good. Then it was just her.

And then, suddenly she found herself being yanked backwards by her hair, a strong hand pulling her by her long braid. She had the presence of mind to try to twist around, her hair long enough to give her that freedom, but it didn’t work, and she realized that the leader of the punks had her as he pulled her to him, wrapping an arm around her neck. She struggled, insults pouring from her lips as she did, but she stopped when the gun was put to her head once more.

“No one move, or the lady doctor here gets it,” he said.

Sam twitched in his arms and growled. “Glad to know me saving your scummy life means something. Next time I’ll give it the attention it’s worth!”

“You,” he said, “don’t say nothing either.”

Sam growled again but switched her attention to looking at who else the punk was addressing. Her eyes widened as she took in who—or what—was in front of her. Four green figures, turtles, all wielding some sort of weapons, and a tall, dark-haired man in a hockey mask with a hockey stick in his hands.

Somehow, he looked the most out of place out of all of them.

Sam had heard rumors of the turtle men before. She’d not put much stock into the stories at first. All sorts of crazies came into the ER, especially at night, and some strung out druggie or beat up punk talking about karate turtles just made her double check their toxicology report. You never knew when there was a bad batch on the street.

But the stories persisted, and she heard them from other places as well. She still hadn’t quite put her faith in those stories. It all seemed like some sort of gimmick to her. But now that the proof was in front of her, well, she couldn’t help but conclude that maybe she should have paid a bit more attention to those rumors.

“Let her go,” the one with the blue mask said. “She’s an innocent.”

“If she hadn’t of interfered, we’d have been gone before you four freaks got—wait, why are there only three of you,” the leader snarled.

And that was when everything went even more wrong than it had so far.

The Dragon went to move his gun from her head to point at one of the turtle men. Sam took the opportunity to jerk her head forward to bite the arm that held her in place and reached back to grab him in a very personal way and twist. At the same time, something came flying out of the air and embedded itself in the Dragon’s hand. A turtle-man leapt forward and tackled her down and out of the way. And at the same time, the gun went off.

The Dragon howled in pain, there was a shout of pain from the opposite direction, and someone screaming “Donnie!” A thud came from the direction of the Dragon, a clack from the direction of the turtle men, and the turtle man that had tackled her out of the way and had somehow kept from squishing her, came up on his feet, setting her on hers before he rushed over towards the turtle Sam could now see being supported by the man, his red mask tails streaking out behind him.

“What the he—” Sam said, mostly to herself as she took in the scenes in front of her.

The turtle with the blue mask stood over the downed Dragon. The man was clearly bleeding out, and Sam was more than a little certain that there was nothing do to save him. A turtle man with an orange mask was hurrying from the direction of the counter towards the other two turtles and the man. The man was lowering a purple-masked turtle to the ground, clearly supporting him.

Well, it seemed pretty clear what she needed to do.

Shaking off her shock and falling back into her professional mindset, Sam hurried forward.

“Move,” she said bluntly, watching as they settled the purple-masked one—Donnie, she presumed—on the ground, the orange-masked one using his lap as a pillow for the other. She could hear the blue-masked one’s footsteps behind her.

The red-masked one whirled on her, clearly upset, his strange, pronged weapons held in his hands. “Look, sister—” he started.

Sam was having none of it. “I said, move!” she snapped at him. “I’m a doctor, I can help! Unless you’ve got a better idea?”

“Let her see Don, Raph,” Leo said. “She might can help him where we can’t.”

Raph seemed to want to resist for a moment, but he stepped back and Sam moved next to the injured turtle.

“It’s not too bad,” Donnie was saying through grit teeth. His hands were already at his thigh, trying to tie a tourniquet around it.

“I’ll be the judge of that,” she said, reaching into her scrub pockets and pulling out a pair of gloves. She pushed her long braid behind her shoulders, pulled the gloves on, and got to work.

“Donnie, right?” said as she worked.

“Y-yeah.”

“Alright. And the rest of you?”

“I’m Mikey,” the orange-masked one said.

“Leo,” the blue-masked one offered.

“Raph,” the one with the red mask said.

“Casey,” the only other human said.

“Alright. I’m Dr. Samantha Craik. I work in the hospital down the road,” she said. She looked up at Donnie. “I’m going to take good care of you, alright? But I’m gonna need some information. I’m not familiar with turtles, much less whatever you are.”

Don chuckled a little, but then stopped when it hurt. “I’ll see what I can do, Doc,” he said, clearly trying to breathe through the pain.

Sam just nodded. “I’m assuming you don’t want to go to the hospital?” she said.

“No.” The answer came quick and sure from Leo, and Sam nodded.

“Alright. In that case, here’s what I need.”

The store had the most of the things she needed and Donnie’s bag helpfully provided the rest. Donnie had gotten lucky. The bullet hadn’t hit anything important, and it was fairly clean in-and-out wound. Ideally, she’s have hopped him up on painkillers, taken some scans, put him on a broad-spectrum antibiotic, and gotten him some blood, but none of that was possible at the moment.

Instead, she snapped out orders to the other turtle-men, sterilized things as best she could, and got to work, cursing the Purple Dragons with every spare breath she had.

“Idiotic low-life—hold his leg still—punks who can’t figure out that—keep that pressure!—that all they’re gonna have is a short and—this is gonna hurt, Donnie—violent life where no one will ever want to remember them—you’re doing good—and they’ll either—almost done with this side—die young or rot in prison—”

“I kinda like you,” Raph said to her.

“I’ll add that to my resume,” she shot back immediately, not even thinking about it. Mikey laughed, but it seemed to ease the turtles and their human friend a bit.

Finally, she sat back, putting things away and stripping off her gloves. “There,” she said. She looked over at Leo, as he seemed the most responsible of the bunch. “He needs to stay off of it. I don’t know if you have access to antibiotics, but those can’t hurt. Keep it clean and wrapped. Those stitches will have to be taken out, so—”

“We can handle that,” Leo said. “We’ve done it before.”

“Although it’s usually Donnie doing this kind of stuff,” Mikey said.

“I’ll… be able to do it… by then…” Donnie said, his face still pinched in pain.

Sam nodded. “Fine.” She hesitated. “If you need anything, come find me. Something tells me you don’t have a lot of medical access.” She looked around and picked up a discarded piece of cardboard and pulled a pen out of her pocket. “Here. That’s my number. Call me. Or come to the hospital and ask for me, or Peter Craik—my husband,” she said at Leo’s look.

He took the number and tucked it into his belt, even as Raph was kneeling in front of Donnie, shell to him as Mikey and Casey helped Don sit up. In the distance sirens sounded.

“We will,” he said. “Thank you, Dr. Craik. But for now, we have to go. Raph?”

“Good to go,” Raph said, standing up with Donnie clinging to his shell.

“See ya, doc!” Mikey said with a wave.

The four of them headed out the back, but Casey hesitated for a moment. “Ya good, Doc?”

Sam sighed. “Well, someone has to stay behind and explain this—and something tells me that you shouldn’t be here anymore than them.”

“Heh. Maybe,” Casey said. “Seriously, though, thanks Doc.” He headed out the back as well, following behind, leaving Sam standing in the middle of the store with a dead Purple Dragon and several that were tied up—although she had no idea when that had happened.

She sighed and sat down on the floor as the sirens got closer. This was going to be a mess.

Sam was right. It was a mess. She had to explain over and over again that some vigilantes had come in and saved them, that one had gotten wounded, and that she had done her best to treat him, as per her oath, but that, no, she didn’t know what they looked like under their masks and that, no, she had no idea who they were or where they had gone. By the time it was all over with and the police accepted her statement, the sun was up, and her husband was waiting on her.

“Sam!” he said, rushing towards her. “Are you alright?”

“I’m tired, my hair is a mess, I had my life threatened, I had to do field medicine, and I’ve not slept in nearly twenty-four hours,” she snapped. “What do you think?”

Peter just grinned at her. “I think that, if you’re snapping like that at me, that you’re probably alright. Let’s get out of here.”

The two left the police station, and headed home, Peter holding Sam’s hand. They were quiet for a moment, and then, softly, Peter murmured to her.

“So, are you going to tell me what really happened?”

Sam didn’t answer for a moment. “…when we get home,” she said.

“Why didn’t you tell the police?” he asked, not condemning, but clearly curious.

“Because sometimes, ‘do no harm’ is more than just the patient’s body,” Sam said irritably.

Peter laughed. “And that’s why I love you,” he said.

“Because I take my oath seriously?” Sam demanded, shooting him a look.

Peter grinned at her. “Because when you’ve decided something’s your duty, nothing can stop you—especially if it’s for the good of your patients.”

Sam harumphed, but he wasn’t wrong, she reflected. And as they walked down the street and down into the subway station she should have entered into last night, Sam wondered if she’d ever see those particular patients again.

After all, a good doctor always followed up.

[tae-rhymeswithslay]

TMNT Hottake: TOTTMNT was disappointing (in my opinion)

i know i know!! i shouldn’t be putting down the new gen of turtles bc thats what every past gen fandom does to every single new iteration BUT this is my blog and i do what i want. Also, thisnis my OPINION feel free to disagree or debate.

SO MUCH wasted potential

GUYS the amount of openings the MM movie left for the series to branch off of was crazy. The Shredder and Cynthia Utrom and her extremely likely connection to the Kraang the were obviously plot points the writers were saving for the second movie and the turtles also couldn’t have drastic character development because of that, but still. The first movie left off on the turtle’s going to high school and regular kids, which was a concept that hadn’t been explored before in the franchise. And the show just. Didn’t. They didn’t go into their school life beyond passing comments about homework and wrestling. We could have gotten a silly shenanigan filled episode of the turtles trying to find after school jobs or clubs or even how they dealt with their newfound fame. That would have been epic.

2. Lack of story content

Really, we only got two complete stories from the series. part one with bishop and then part two with goldfin and even then neither villain really stuck out to me. Bishop had that inciting moment that tied her into the first movie with her mechazoid getting crushed by the superfly mutant. But then her ‘revenge plan’ still felt shoehorned in like they were trying to make a morally complex villain and failed. Her side backstory with her sister just fell flat. i’m sorry, I love sweet sibling bonds, but we just weren’t given enough information or time about Elena for me to personally care about her. Then at the end when bishop turned herself in and then immediately relapsed into villainous territory, I was like “wow, i can’t wait to see her descent into madness as the second half of the series progresses!” but then she was just pushed to the side COMPLETELY in order to start the goldfin plot line. Where Bishop was a fresh take on a classic character, Goldfin and the East River Three were completely new characters created for TOTTMNT. i can kinda see what they were going for by starting off with whats familiar to fans and then branching out into more creative territory, but the shift between stories was so jarring, it felt loke i had just started a whole new series entirely- though, now that i’m typing this out, that also could have been the feeling the writers were going for since part one was told through Leo’s point of view and part two was told through Raph’s. The writers might’ve purposefully made the transition choppy.

3. Personal gripes, aka my fave characters were not there

CASEY!! CASEY MY PRECIOUS LITTLE BOY WHERE WERE YOU?!! Casey was never named as a character in the show, but i will bet my bottom dollar that they were one of the unnamed purple dragons. I have theories that either the boomerang dragon was casey (really really hoping he was. he was my favorite dragon outside of Hun and Angel) or the knife-stick hockey girl was Casey (girl casey truther fr) and i really hope the bucket hat dragon is Keno bc that man NEEEDS to make a comeback. Theres really not much to say about this reason. MONA ALSO WASNT THERE. ik it would’ve been hard to do a space arc in the very limited number of episodes, but it would’ve made my 2012 and 1987 loving heart to see her just make some kind of appearance.

THINGS THE SHOW DID RIGHT!!

guys, i’m not a complete hater believe it or not

no uncomfy crushes/relationships/love triangles

after the Apritello disaster of 2012, i was waiting with bated breath to see how they would handle the Leopril romance introduced in MM and i was pleasantly surprised. It felt so much more genuine and like a realt teen crush. Hes so much more chill about it than Donnie ever was, but he is still clearly very in love and its all so sweet to watch.

2. The ANIMATION

HOLY SHIT WHERE DO I EVEN BEGIN?? it was nothing short of STELLAR- the subtle style changes as the turtles perspectives shifted?? UGHHH!!! i wanted to consume my phone. THE FIGHT WITH GOLDFIN???!! JAW!! ON THE FLOOR!!!

[fabuloustrash05]

My Top 5 Favorite TMNT 2012 Ships

5) Mikey x Renet

I feel we as a fandom has come to an unanimous agreement that all the canon romances/couples given to us in the 2012 series are bad/toxic/poorly written/inc3st/etc with THEM being the only exception (I'll talk about that ship soon), however I think Renetangelo is the other exception.

They’re certainly not perfect with their first problem being Mikey kinda “cheating” on Renet with Shinigami (they weren’t together or officially dating so it’s not cheating, but it still felt wrong that it was never acknowledged that Mikey was pretty much a skirt chaser, crushing on two girls at once), but I still really love their dynamic and relationship. Mikey and Renet are undoubtedly cute together, just two silly goofballs having a fun time and enjoying the other’s company with the occasional flirting and kiss on the cheek (which btw SO CUTE). Renetangelo is that couple that I feel works great both romantically and platonically. If you told me they’re best friends, I’d believe it, if you told me they’re a couple, I’d also believe it. That's how well they work off each other. I'm okay with them being a couple or just being friends.

Season 5 also practically confirms they’re together on two occasions with Mikey saying him and Renet are in a long distance relationship in the When Worlds Collide special, and Renet hinting during the Halloween arc that she and Mikey have some kind of future together.

Overall, I really like Renetangelo and I love seeing these two together. From Mikey's puppy love expressions when he sees her to their overall personalities clashing so well together. This ship is very underrated and needs more love.

4) Slash x Alopex

Btw this edit was made by @robins-treasure <33

Yes, this is a ship that exist and I take FULL CREDIT FOR THE CREATION OF THIS COUPLE! I AM THE REASON THIS SHIP IS ALIVE AND SAILING! YOU ARE WELCOME!!

Slash x Alopex (or what I like to call them Slaopex) is my rarepair of the 2012 series and I’m so happy that I’m slowly getting more and more people one board with it. It started off as just a random silly idea of mine, like "What if Slash got a gf?" and then I thought "Well, who could I ship him with?" and then my brain went "What if Slash and Alopex got together? That would be funny". I laughed at the idea, but the more I thought of it, the more I started to like it. I began coming up with headcanons and a story of their relationship, and the more I did that, the more I fell in love with this concept and the potential of this couple. So much that it placed 4th in my top 5!

I fell so in love with them I even ended up writing a short fanfic of how I headcanon they would first meet and the beginning of their blooming romance (you can read it HERE). But in short, Slash runs into Alopex during a late night patrol and helps her beat up some crooks who were attacking her. The two get to talking, sharing a tender moment before parting ways, with Alopex now being the only thing on Slash's mind <3

I also reference this ship a few times in my fanfic Courting a Salamandrian. Consider it a continuation of that little oneshot.

3) Leo x Casey

While everyone else was shipping Jonatello, I was shipping Caseynardo! I was never a fan of Jonatello, I don't hate it, just couldn't get on board nor understand the hype around it, but then one day I stumbled across fanart of Leo x Casey and I thought "Huh... these two actually look cute together!" and quickly sunk into the rabbit hole. Looking up every little bit of fanart, fanfics and edits I could find.

Liking this ship this much for it to be ranked 3rd in my Top 5 favorite TMNT 2012 ships says a lot. This ship really grew on me very quickly, so much so that I wrote a fanfiction on them! I wrote a Caseynardo fanfic before writing a Renetangelo one (you can read it HERE), which is funny cause I've been shipping Renetangelo since the show was airing, and I didn't start liking Caseynardo till long after the show ended! That says a lot about how much these boy effected me! LOL

My whole HC for this ship is that they bonding a lot in season 3 at the farmhouse which led to a mutual romantic attraction. Eventually they secretly date without telling anyone but due to the circumstances and problems going on in Leo’s life, he was unable to keep the relationship going. They agree to just be friends, which Casey promising to wait for him. It’s basically the “right person, wrong time” trope. But I like to headcanon that by season 5, Leo and Casey finally get together officially and made their relationship known to everyone else. The only one not surprised was Raphael who knew about those two since day one, cause he was stuck being their third wheel/wingman XD

2) Karai x Shinigami

I will NEVER forgive Nickelodeon for be too cowardly to make this happen. They'd rather ship inc3st and force Shini to be straight than give us our goth kunoichi lesbians. For shame, Nickelodeon... For shame...

Not to mention that one of the writers of the show, Peter Di Cicco, shipped them! Calling them his "OTP" and referring to Shini as "Karai's girlfriend", and even pitching an alternate ending to the series where Splinter and Shredder make up but the only thing they fight over now is who gets to walk Karai down the aisle during her wedding to Shinigami XD

The moment I saw Shinigami, I instantly thought "Oh that's a lesbian and she and Karai are a thing". I really love their dynamic, their friendship and the potential they have in being a cute couple of childhood friends to lovers. You can see how much they care about each other. The fury in Shini's voice when she confronts Super Shredder, "I will destroy you, Monster! For everything you have done to Karai!". Shini is supportive of Karai and is always the one down to start chaos with you. Makes me wish we could've learned more about these two and their history. I like to think they've known each other since they were little, being childhood friends while training and growing up in The Foot Clan.

My personal headcanon is that Shinigami has had a crush on Karai since they were young, like preteens, and is so loyal to her and willing to help Karai not just because she is her best friend but also because she loves her. However, she is scared to tell Karai how she really feels because she's worried she won't reciprocate and it'll ruin their long time friendship. Luckily, Mikey is there for support!

Not to toot my own horn, but I did write a fanfic relating to this concept that you can read HERE

1) Raphael x Mona Lisa

What have I not already said about RaMona? If you follow me then you know full well that these two are my life. I’ve written multiple fanfics based on them on AO3 (LINK HERE) and have done a few analysis posts about them as well here on Tumblr. They have consumed my life. I love them so much!

Overall, I believe they are the healthiest ship the series offered us, and the best one in canon. I know some complain that they were rushed and how they got together too quickly, but in truth I can understand why Raph and Mona got into a relationship as quickly as they did. They are both warriors with the mindset of "I might die tomorrow" so it makes sense they'd be open and honest about their feelings right from the start just in case something happens to either one of them in battle. You only live once, you know? And I like how open Raph is when it comes to his feelings for Mona. From the very start, the moment he realized he liked her, never once did he deny it. Even when his brothers and friends laughed or scolded him, Raph proudly admitted he likes her with no ounce of shame. Mikey even points out that Mona is "bigger, stronger and a better fighter" than Raph and him responding by saying "Exactly! What a woman..." The boy does not care that she will be the pants in their relationship. He loves that she's stronger than him, bigger than him, a better fighter than him. We even see how excited he gets when she suggests training with him someday. Not to mention how we also learn in the show that these two have written love letters to each other during the course of the season 4 space adventures. Their personailties clash so well together. Both being strong willed warriors who put their loved ones first. Both can be stubborn and jump to conclusions quickly. We even see that Mona can have a short temper much like Raph. Both are ready to kick some ass with anyone who talks shit (Raph defending Mona but then Mona defending herself *chef's kiss*)

It's not talked about often among the fandom/shippers, but the fact that Mona is as much in love with Raph as he is with her is what truly makes this ship great. While the other 2012 ships make it unclear (writing wise) if the love interest truly feels the exact same way towards her Turtle she's shipped with, but for Mona her feelings are obvious. She's the one who makes the first move during all of their kisses/nose nuzzles, she's the one to say "I love you" first" and do I have to remind y'all of the push up scene? XD

These two are obsessed with one another. You can tell and see just how in love they are with one another. Even with only appearing in about 4-5 episodes, they truly left a major impact on shipping in this fandom. I feel it has come to a unanimous agreement that this ship is the best (canon) couple this show gave us. I love them, I love their relationship, I love what these two have done for the show and this fandom. They were able to bring back a classic ship from the 87 series and add so much more to them! I hope we get to see more of this couple in future generations. They certainly aren't a perfect couple, they got their flaws too, but overall they are truly the best couple in the 2012 series. <333

[imagionationstation]

Hi IS!! I seriously hope you're actually taking a break from Tumblr and social media instead of reading this haha, but I've been a follower for a few months now and couldn't help but send in a little post after seeing your rant. As someone who grew up with 2012 and adores it, and also as someone who respects Rise for what it is, I understand. 2012 is a huge comfort show to me and I've definitely gotten upset when all people do is go out of their way to tell you how horrible the show is without reason. 2012 is by no means perfect!! I am extremely aware of its flaws, but I don't believe that gives anyone permission to go out of their way just to ruin it for you. To target the one criticism that drives me a bit nuts, the "real brothers" thing. Rise has a very valid interpretation of brothers! But as someone with 3 other siblings, it is not sunshine and rainbows all the time. My older siblings would make me cry, we would fight and get hurt and hurt each other all of the time, my younger sibling would tattle on me, etc etc. But we also look out for each other, and have grown out of many of those things since then. I see a lot of my own sibling situations in 2012. Sure, it doesn't get everything right (and can be purposefully exaggerated because it is a cartoon!!), but it isn't wrong either. Everyone has different family experiences, and believing that Rise is the only correct interpretation of siblings would just be a bit narrow minded. I have many, many more points I could make in regards to the sibling ordeal (and other criticisms you mentioned!) but I'll leave it here for now. Overall, just enjoy what you want to enjoy! This goes for everyone. Someone is always going to want to rain on your parade, don't give them the power to do it. It's so much easier and less tiring to spend your time enjoying something you love over dunking on something you hate. :)

Thank you <3

As I mention over here, not really in a place to drop it yet, but I may sometime in the future. Your support is greatly appreciated!

As someone who grew up with 2012 and adores it, and also as someone who respects Rise for what it is, I understand. 2012 is a huge comfort show to me and I've definitely gotten upset when all people do is go out of their way to tell you how horrible the show is without reason.

Exactly! I have nothing against rottmnt. RISE is a great addition to the TMNT fandom. It has its highs and lows like anything else. It didn't deserve the dislike that many fans gave it in the beginning.

So why does 2012 deserve the exact same treatment after its time is over? Why doesn't it deserve the same respect for its diversity?

They experimented with some awesome and iffy things.

Some things worked and others didn't. Why can't we leave it at that?

I try and read the opinions that say "I like this, this, and this, but-" and ignore anything that is pure hate or comes from an account that has never said a single nice thing about the show.

But even then, it's often always the same old list of complaints.

And, like, Donnie is downright awful with his comebacks but sometimes I find myself doing the daily quote thing to the screen when I come across someone who is being supremely unreasonable.

(Not that I'd ever actually say that to anyone. It's my stress vice.

But. I definitely think it. Very hard.)

To target the one criticism that drives me a bit nuts, the "real brothers" thing.

EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS FOLLOWING PARAGRAPH BRINGS ME AN UNNAMABLE JOY.

You hit the nail right on the head!!

My family dynamic is so similar to these boys. One of my siblings very seriously told me a few days ago that I am not at all attractive, but a few weeks ago, the same sibling also reassured me that I deserved a love interest so much better than any person the world has handed me. Freakin' Raph impersonator over here.

Literally, I have siblings who interact like Leo and Raph. Constantly trying to be the superior in the relationship and hating when the other bosses them around. But you'd almost never find them apart because they are the other's shoulder to lean on.

I'm not anyone innocent either. I've said lots of things that I didn't mean in the past and I still slip up from time to time. I'm the type of person to be annoyed with a sibling and smack/shove them. My siblings do the exact same! Teasing and mocking and crude words aren't anything crazy. It's just how our fam do family.

I have a sibling who is just as insane and annoying as Mikey, but it's so frustrating because he's either purposefully stirring chaos and then laughing when we get upset, or so innocent and confused when I'm getting mad at him for doing something similar a while later.

We get so tired of it. But it's not his fault. He's untreated ADHD and lives his life to the fullest. What you gonna do? Stifle that? Please.

We get so tired of each other.

But we're always the first to have each others' backs.

Overall, just enjoy what you want to enjoy! This goes for everyone. Someone is always going to want to rain on your parade, don't give them the power to do it. It's so much easier and less tiring to spend your time enjoying something you love over dunking on something you hate. :)

Thank you so much. I always try to remind myself of that, but some days it can be hard. I really appreciate your kind words! I hope anyone reading this is also making note of them.

I don't ever want to be a hater.

Going giddly over the boys being themselves is so much more fun.

[brightlotusmoon]

I love this blog, it's up my alley!

Rodent marriage insult! Single power!

[tmntkiseki]

I'd say it's been probably... almost two months since I became an active participant in the TMNT 2003 fandom? And while there have been some ups and downs, overall I have been enjoying myself.

The biggest adjustment is the size. Most of my previous fandoms have been relatively niche JRPGs and while TMNT 2003 isn't the most popular animated TMNT iteration, the fanbase is still much, much larger than what I'm used to. More people talking, more fanart and fanfic being posted, and definitely a lot more, ah, discourse. Not that discourse wasn't a thing in my smaller fandoms, but I stumble across it quite a bit when browsing tags, and there's also a lot more variety to it as well. It really is weird what kind of stuff people will get their underwear up in a bunch about.

As far as interacting with other fans goes, I try to keep a relatively open mind when discussing the show and characters. I know some people can be very trigger happy with their block buttons, but I try not to block people simply because they disagree with me/I disagree with them. If I were to block someone on the grounds of their opinion being different from mine, it would be because they were being aggressive of how right they are while I'm completely wrong to the point of literal harassment over whatever is being discussed. Which, you know, fortunately I haven't had to do something like that yet. Most people have been very kind to me thus far, even when there were disagreements.

I am pretty happy with how things are turning out, even though it was a bit rough in the beginning when I didn't know anyone and felt like an outsider. A lot of people have expressed thanks for the fact I've been posting the official model sheets and concept art from the show, and as long as people still want them, I'll keep uploading them until I've run out because hey, I can personally confirm that the turtles are fucking hard to draw, and even the lowest quality reference can do wonders. This is also the fandom that inspired me to dabble in video editing and gif making; still not the best at either of them, but much like art, it's a learning process and the most important thing is that I'm having fun. My brain hasn't been this entertained learning new techniques for making things in a while, even if it can be frustrating at times. (Those damn shells are the worst to draw, man.)

So.... Yeah. All I can really say at this point is thank you to everyone for making this fanbase experience enjoyable so far. I'll probably be around for a while yet!

[crowsandturtlesandbatsohmy]

3 and 9 for the tmnt asks?

3. How long have you been in the fandom?

I’ve been in the fandom since September 12th of 2023, so ten months. :)

9. How much of the franchise have you seen/read?

• I’ve seen the first season of ROTTMNT (I don’t have access to season 2 and I refuse to watch the movie without watching season 2)

• I’m nearly done with the first season of 2012.

• I’ve seen Batman V.S. The TMNT (2019)

• I’ve seen TMNT (2007)

• I’ve seen Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem

• I’ve seen Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990) and most of the sequel

• And then I finally worked up the courage to try the Michael Bay films, so I’ve seen the beginning of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014)

Essentially I’ve made it my mission to consume as much TMNT media as possible XD I also have some episodes from 2003 and some from the original 1987 cartoon, but I’m waiting until I’ve finished 2012 to start a different series.

Thank you for the ask Jade!

[rottmnt-background-screenshots]

I love your account!! Super happy to see someone appreciate all of Rise's art!!

(I found all this info on the TMNT wiki, the sources are linked, of course, so you can see for yourself) All of the points below are canonical info confirmed either by the show itself or by Rise's staff writers:

Yoshi didn't move to the US immediately. His film career began in Japan and then he went to the US. He was already a famous celebrity by the time he moved.

Yoshi was in his early thirties (30-33 y/o) the day he proposed to Big Mama.

Yoshi's film career ended in the mid-90s (1994-1996) (i.e., he was abducted).

Yoshi and the Turtles' mutation occurred in approximately 2005.

Yoshi was in his early forties (40-43 y/o) the day he was mutated.

Yoshi was in the Battle Nexus for 10 years before escaping.

The show begins in 2018 in-universe.

The episode "The Evil League of Mutants" takes place precisely 13 years post-Yoshi and the Turtles' mutation.

The episode "Lair Games" takes place in 2019 in-universe.

The show's season 2 finale ("Battle Nexus: New York"-"Rise") takes place in 2019 in-universe.

The Rise movie's present-time takes place in 2020 in-universe.

This date hasn't been confirmed to be canonical by the prop designers/writers so it very well could mean nothing, but it might be worth taking into account that the clapboard of the film Big Mama and Yoshi met on, Crouching Shrimp Hidden Tiger Prawn, is dated 1984. So they may have been a couple since then, considering how they were both into each other immediately and aren't shy people. Is this is true (again, the 1984 date could be wrong) and we make the math as clean-cut as possible by declaring Yoshi proposed in precisely 1995, was trapped in the Battle Nexus for 10 years, and mutated in 2005, Big Mama and Yoshi were a couple for 11 years before the proposal. It hasn't been confirmed how old Yoshi was when his film career started and it hasn't been confirmed how long he was making Japanese films before he immigrated to the US.

Okay, so I was a little off with my math, which is pretty on brand for me. But yes! Here's a more precise timeline with significantly fewer guesstimates.

I love when we can come together as a fandom and figure these things out!

[tmnt-tychou]

Free Sketch Day Fri Nov 17

Free Sketch Day is happening tomorrow for my followers to celebrate reaching 900 followers. As usual, I am allowed to reject a sketch request for any reason. But the goal is to accept and draw as many requests as I can through the day. So please read the rules to make sure your request is accepted.

*I will announce on Friday morning when I am ready to receive sketch requests. Do not send anything before then and send them to my Ask Box only.

*No anonymous requests. You must have an account to request. (Though my ask box is always open for misc TMNT shenanigans from followers and Anons.)

*I will only draw TMNT characters. I will not draw any other fandoms. I WILL draw TMNT OCs and canon x OC pairings, but you MUST include links to your characters so I can find references easily.

*No more than three characters maximum in one pic. You can only request one pic, though you may send me some options to choose from if you'd like.

*Please specify which TMNT iteration you would like me to draw. Example: 2003, Bayverse, Rise, etc. Or I might pick for you.

*If you have requested in previous Free Sketch Days you can absolutely request again. I will never punish followers who have been supporting me since the beginning.

*The sketch you request is YOURS. You can do whatever you want with it. If you want to ink and color it, post it on your page, ect, you may, as long as I get credit for the art.

*If you are worried about sending a request because you're afraid I have already received too many, don't be. I'm an adult and I know my limits. I will post when I am closing the requests. As long as it's open, feel free to send your requests. The last time I did this at 600 followers I hardly got any requests, so I honestly don't know what sort of response I'll get this time. I highly suggest getting your request ready to go tonight so you can send it right away tomorrow morning. It will be on a first come first served basis.

I look forward to hearing from you tomorrow for Free Sketch Day and thank you for following and supporting my projects.

[brightlotusmoon]

*removes glasses, taps them against chin, smirks* almost all of us. Almost everyone in the Fandom had an awakening via the Ninja Turtles, sexual or otherwise.

[mousermayhem]

Probably won’t be up to midnight so I’m gonna be making this post early. After all, it’s the last day of the year so I’m gonna let myself be sentimental.

I’ve been in and out of a lot of fandoms throughout the years. My most consistent and longest running one being One Piece. I’ve been in there since my beginning on tumblr and slowly, over time, got to know a lot of really amazing people who I love dearly.

But oh boy has the TMNT fandom been so vastly different!

I’ve been into TMNT since childhood but only started actively engaging in the fandom side of things a little earlier this year. Out of every fandom I have been in, the people in this fandom have been so kind and approachable and it has been so mindblowingly easy to make absolutely wonderful new friends! I love all of you so much.

Here’s to a good 2024, may it treat us all kindly.

[brightlotusmoon]

Get defenestrated, idiot

tmnt fans when a 15 year old boy gets thrown through a window

[that-one-dork]

Letter ask meme!

@vaudeville-moggie

M: when it rains/snows/storms

E: sharing a drink

Fandom: TMNT (VIY AU)

Timeline: sometime in a recovery period

(This could potentially count as a spoiler I guess? Definitely later than the point the story is at now though lol)

(Also I did not reread to fix possible mistakes so sorry if things are odd or something!)

___

The first crack of lightning struck an outside tree and charred the thinner sections of it. April gazed out the window of the farmhouse and watched blackened leaves disintegrate into the night. She glanced over at Casey, who was asleep on the couch. Outbursts and accidental clawing have worn down the furniture quite noticeably. Screws and boards and stuffing could be seen wherever she looked.

One of those cartoons with an odd amount of fourth wall-breaking foreshadowing was playing on the tv. Mikey was seated on the floor, slit-pupil eyes trained on the illuminated pixels. He rocked back and forth slightly. He’s been quieter since…the incident. Perhaps self conscious of his lesser control over his hissing of the letter ‘s’. Or…something else, anything else, really. It wasn’t like he was going to open up anytime soon. April looked at the floorboards in front of his spot and took note of the scratches dug into the wood. The once-smooth floor tended to feel the consequences of the more exciting series’s.

The surveillance of everyone couldn’t be ignored, but exhaustion was beginning to creep up. April yawned and ran a hand through her hair. Looking at Casey again, she decided to let him sleep. She trudged to the kitchen with coffee on her mind. A torn blue bandana laid on the table, a clawed hand resting tamely on the cloth. “Hey, Leo,” April greeted the mutant, who nodded in response. She studied his slouched form. “Why don’t you get some rest?” she suggested.

“I, egh, I need to train more. I need to better control this.” His resting hand curled around the torn mask.

April frowned. “Cmon, you need sleep, too. You can’t heal mentally or physically if you don’t give yourself time to rest.” She studied her friend’s expression and faltered upon noticing the lasting resolve on his face. “…Will you at least let me make you some tea?”

Hesitantly, Leo nodded, and asked, “Do we have the lavender tea?” April walked to the cupboard and gave a thumbs up upon spotting the little labeled box. She pulled out a semi-translucent tea bag as well as a canister of instant coffee grounds. She placed down the metal canister but held onto the tagged bag. A hand found the container of evaporating melatonin pills and discreetly slipped one into the leafy mixture. She shook it slightly to hide it and placed the tea bag on the counter with the canister.

Upon placing the kettle on the heated stove, it didn’t take long for the metal device to whistle with steam. April turned off the burner and set two porcelain cups on the counter. She carefully poured boiling water into each and added the two mixes. While waiting for the tea to steep she stirred the coffee grounds around to speed up their assimilation with the water. After a few minutes the soggy bag was removed and thrown out. Leo watched as April placed the two cups in their respective spots. He softly gave a “thanks” with a small nod of his head and proceeded to sip the herbal liquid.

Thunder crashed overhead with a loud reverberating boom. Leo jolted with a startled gasp. Steaming tea spilled onto his hand. His yelp fused with a hiss and he aggressively shook his hand to get some of the hot liquid off. Scales became more visible across his body and his arm seemed to shift in form slightly, his pupils shifting to pinpricks as momentary pain and panic took hold. April shot up from her seat and grabbed a paper towel. She wetted it under the sink faucet and hurriedly placed it where the tea was burning Leo’s hand. The mutant looked up and they held a gaze for a few seconds. Leo relaxed a little and glanced away. He removed the damp paper towel and simply shed away the reddish and mildly burned area.

Quietly the two continued to drink their beverages. April glanced up from her cup occasionally to check for further agitation, or, alternatively, tiredness. Thankfully only the latter appeared to be the case. Leo seemed to be calming down and relaxing. She got an idea to get him to voluntarily let himself rest.

“How about…” she started, pausing to sip her cooling coffee, “…you do some meditation? Like Master Splinter did. A healthy, rested mind, er, makes a healthy ninja.”

Leo slowly blinked at her and she grimaced as she realized it probably wasn’t a good idea to mention the parental figure right now. He gently placed his cup on the table. “…He…would, most likely want us all to do…slower exercises,” he agreed, then quickly added, “in- in moderation, of course. We still need to train, be- be fit ninjas, and all-“

“Yeah, I understand,” April replied. She really wanted her friends to allow themselves a break. They all needed to recover. Leo had such a problem with just…chilling. She watched as he finished his drink.

“I’m gonna go upstairs. See you in the morning, April.”

“Mhm, good night.”

The human watched her mutant friend place the cup on the counter and make his way up the stairs. She sighed and closed her eyes, listening to the soft pattering of rain smacking the farmhouse’s roof.

Things will be okay.