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rottmnt-residuum · 3 months ago

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Hi, I've read the Residuum comic, and I think the characterization of the boys is really good. I was wondering if you have any tips on how to write them? Especially Mikey, please.

I'd actually recommend re-watching the show with one character in mind. All my notes on the turtles come from doing separate re-watches for each of them. The key is to ONLY watch the character you are focusing on.

In the end, you'll probably be happier with your own personal interpretation. As we are with ours lol

TL;DR

Massive post under the cut

To preface: we'll be contrasting (this Mikey) against the fandoms version of Mikey, as our interpretation is very different. Don't worry if you prefer the fandom version, there's nothing… wrong per se with writing him this way. We just find him flat and uninteresting. (Main author: not me, I just hate him, lol).

Every reader or fan comes into a story with their own biases and experiences. A ton of our view of Mikey is based on how our siblings acted. We see Mikey as the young sibling that got preferential treatment from the whole family, simply due to being the youngest, but is now aging out of the privilege. Which all youngest siblings do at some point or another.

The fandoms version of Mikey is empathetic, naive, vulnerable, co-dependent and quite often a door mat who cries at the drop of a hat. And as much as the fandom like to say that people love him… when this particular character archetype is in other media, they seem to attract the most criticism. Mable pines, Bolin from Korra, people rag on Aang all the fucking time, and Steven Universe is a whole other bag. These characters don't deserve it, and yet it happens anyway.

To flatten Mikey to simply 'the baby' is a disservice. We don't see or write Mikey as the fandom “baby” version (cinnamon roll uwu). Part of this comes from having multiple siblings, so we interpret the times when Mikey does the puppy dog eyes as typical younger sibling bullshit, mostly by the way that the other turtles rarely react to it, if at all.

The other turtles traits can also get projected onto Mikey. Mikey being the fandom therapist is in the same category as this. He isn't a therapist, he's a psychology nerd who likes to psychoanalyze people and meddle in their relationships. (Donnie and Shelldons relationship, Splinter and Draxums...) he's not trying to resolve your emotional issues. Of the turtles, the character that cares the most about people's feelings is Raph. And Leo is more of a consoler than Mikey ever is. It flattens all the turtle's characterizations when you start doing this because you are ripping out parts that are integral to another characters' complexity.

Co-author has told me that they've seen people become confused when going into the show after only reading fan fiction or coming from the movie. They see his characterization as inconsistent and become upset when their view of him is contradicted. This also happens when a fandomized version of him becomes the primary characterization that they use. Sometimes when this disconnect happens (or if they just don't like the character), Mikey characterization is swung in the complete opposite direction.

They make him manipulative and abusive, or someone who is hyper violent and avoids being held accountable for anything. This is an uncharitable interpretation of him and can come off as pretty racist depending on the circumstances. (like if someone considers the turtles black or not)

Every version of Mikey is a shithead (affectionate), even this one. Especially this one, really. When Mikey not doing the "baby schtick" hes mean. If you pay attention to what he's saying, and just not his tone of voice, he's consistently saying pretty mean or condescending stuff. (You could take this as simply naïveté, but he still says mean shit pretty often regardless)

The times he does say genuinely nice stuff the turtles don't exactly expect it from him, at least, in the early season. And while he is mean, and seems to find saying mean things to be funny, Mikey isn't cruel. Nor will he ever be.

This shit-headery behavior is found in both 2003 and 18 Mikey. They have a degree of social intelligence that lets them use it to annoy people into doing what they want. 18 just has the advantage of being baby faced and having better tonal control. He's good at using people's perception of him to get what he wants.

Let Mikey have his problematic traits, but don't overexaggerate them. He doesn't revel in fooling people. He loves doing character bits, and the baby faced one just happens to be one of them. However, to infantilize or to deem him incompetent is to piss him off, he wants to be viewed as a competent part of the team and competent as an individual. He's not insecure about being young, he just doesn't want to be treated like he can't do anything.

Mikey above all is an optimistic character, he sees the brighter side quite often and is conscious of the harm his actions have on people. Mostly after the fact, but he consistently attempts to rectify the harm he has personally done to peoples lives. (Todd, Bullhop, Draxum). Food and shelter seems to be a thing that he considers to be a right. He doesn't cross a boundary twice once he learns of it, and he never pushes people too far (if he likes you, that is. if he doesn't know you or doesn't like you, he doesn't give a singular shit. But that is standard to most people.). He doesn't care about people's stuff, though. He breaks things all the time.

Mikey understands boundaries, but he doesn't automatically recognize them. He needs them to verbalized or for there to be a very obvious reaction to the boundary being crossed (unfortunately, for Todd and Donnie). Sometimes people mess up (esp. younger people), and it can take a while for teens to learn where boundary is, but he fully respects the boundaries he does know about. He doesn't act petulant when he's told about boundary, he apologizes, accepts it, and moves on. He doesn't dwell.

Mikey doesn't hold on to distressing emotions. He bounces between emotions quickly, but isn't effected in the long run. One thing Iv'e seen people often conflate is the difference between sensitive and vulnerable. Mikey is sensitive, but I have never seen him vulnerable to others. To be sensitive is to be easily influenced by the current situation. To be vulnerable is to hold that influence for a long time. Characters can have one, both, or neither of these traits. But Mikey is not vulnerable. It is the difference between compressing memory foam and a piece of metal until they deform. One will pop back, the other does not.

Those who are vulnerable but not sensitive will take longer to effect, but once you do, they will hold on to that emotion for a very long time. The vulnerable, are grudge holders. (leo). But like I've said, Mikey bounces back. What a character does has an effect on his emotions, but it doesn't make a lasting impression.

Forgiveness is another thing people like to push on him. It is not that Mikey forgives people easily, it's just that he doesn't hold grudges. He neither forgives nor forgets, but he does not ruminate. He's generally affable, first impressions seem to be a big part of how he views people. He is idealistic, and doesn't assume people are unchanging and/or evil, but he's not a mark.

Mikey isn't so much as naive or overly trusting… it's just that he's inexperienced. He doesn't get fooled by anyone in the series except meat sweats, and that's because Meatsweats is on Todd drugs. Mikey just didn't notice when he started faking. He's not… actually all that aware of people's emotional states, passively. He has to tune in to notice things like that.

Mikey isn't someone who really tries to regulate others emotions, either. The fandom like to make Mikey afraid of his brothers fighting and others being upset, but Mikey doesn't actually care. The most distressed we ever see him in a fight is in the movie, and he's not SCARED, he's just concerned (and then alarmed once it turned physical). If anything, outside extenuating circumstances (like the movie), Mikey actually seems to find their fights annoying.

(Mikey actually seems to have a pretty short fuse, but his bounciness doesn't really let it linger very long, lmao)

(One pet peeve of fandom Mikey is the constant crying, crying at fights, crying at insults, crying for no reason all the time. Sure, he tears up when he gets emotional, but when Mikey is genuinely crying It's when he's desperate, like when he's hungry, or when he's trying to save Leo from certain doom. Same thing, really.)

Mikey respects no one (we love him for this). He admires people, he admires his family: April, the turtles, his dad, Lou Jitsu. He admires Rupert Swaggert, but he respects none of them. No one is sacrosanct to the Mikey.

Above all, the way we write characters is to give them a past that informs how they act now. We view Mikey and the other turtles as teenagers that were kids, and that will be adults. Yes they all have “problematic” traits, but 1) good characters need flaws, and controversial traits are one of the best to use, and 2) they're teenagers, don't expect adult behaviors from them, also don't expect them to be kids. They're minors, not toddlers.

This is getting as long enough as it is, so we'll stop here, but this is a very broad overview of how we characterize him. There's a lot we didn't cover here, but if we even started on hobbies, or the real minutia of his quirks and ticks, or even how he feels about other specific characters... we'd be here all day. So I hope this is good enough lol

If there was something you wanted to know in particular, you'll need to get specific. Feel free to ask again ahahh

#residual asks #rottmnt #rottmnt michelangelo #rise mikey #side note:#do not write the characters based on archetypes ah la heroes journey/hero with a thousand faces #(john campbell is a racist sexist pos)#hollywood was ruined by the attempts to copy Star Wars ad infintium #everyone thank co-author for deleting all my vitriol #i am full of rage and too many opinions on the show and how people handle the characters #but co-author is a patient soul who has removed all my dumbassery and wrote half of this #thank you co-author we love you #honestly there is so much i want to include here but i didn't want to make you wait longer than this ahahahah #if any of you want our stuff on the other characters you'll have to ask for them separately #and then wait a week or two lmao #also we have a list of mikeys verbal ticks if you want #ough.. writing words give me tummy ache

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dark-elf-writes · 12 days ago

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Suggestion for drabbles since I don't recall if you've done it before:

Assassin's Creed x Dragon Age. Because it just hit me that the memory-reading Animus could be compared to blood magic (literally since its reading stuff in your blood and while I don't know the full details on the function, it seems like body/mind control might have enough similarity with animus burning memories of your ancestors in your head to count) and the Templars are basically Completely Unchallenged in their power over... well, influence or history whereas the Circles's (nominally anyway) are publicly and knowingly tied to a religion structure.

Whether it's a AC character yeeted into DA, vice versa, or a fusion. Take your pick.

“So, you glow.”

Desmond pretended not to look at the man (the dwarf) sitting across the fire, instead fidgeting with his hidden blade. The mechanism had jammed sometime in the last fight anyway, and it was with Altair’s practiced hands that he tended to the weapon.

“It’s a long story.”

Varric laughed, even as his hand didn’t stray too far from Bianca. “They usually are. Fortunately I make my business in stories… among other things.”

Desmond didn’t know where to start, how to put the Animus, war between Templars and Assassins, and the three assassins who had taken the place of their memories in a skull that was already filled with to bursting, into words that someone from a world where chamber pits still existed.

Then again, he had been forced to explain it to his three mental roommates… and dragons apparently existed here so….

That… still wouldn’t explain the arm, blackened as if he had shoved it into an open flame (or directly into the fucking sun) and threaded with golden circuits that were several hundred if not thousand years ahead of their time.

“You’re not a mage,” Varric, thankfully seemed to take pity on him at least a little. “I’ve never seen one so… stabby who wasn’t—.” He broke off all at once some of the reading light dying in his eyes.

Maybe Desmond wasn’t the only one with a long story to tell.

“I was… captured. Experimented on. They… changed me. Put memories in my head that weren’t my own and gave me…” he waved rather than finish the sentence before going back to the hidden blade, cursing in Italian as it stayed stubbornly jammed.

In his head Altair scoffed and called him a novice whose was less than helpful.

“Memories or a demon?”

Desmond laughed a little. “They’ve been called that, but while they are killers threaten killers with a creed.”

“You have Crows in your head?”

This time when Desmond laughed it was full and deep. “Let’s call them eagles,” His voice was filled with mirth and his head full of laughter and irritated grumblings. “But I’m serious about the Creed. We don’t kill innocents.”

“And who decides who is innocent?”

“Who decides that for you?” Desmond shot back with a pointed look at the monster of a crossbow that Ezio was dying to get his metaphorical hands on. Something about Leonardo having made something similar. “Normally the ones that are innocent are the ones not actively trying to kill me at that particular moment… normally. It can get a bit complicated.”

“And when you decide someone isn’t innocent?”

Desmond shrugged, “A knife to the heart hasn’t failed me yet.”

Varric was quiet for a long moment, then huffed a laugh. “Anyone ever told you you think in straight lines?”

The mechanism unjammed and Desmon grinned. “They didn’t seem to think it was nearly as much of a good thing as you do.”

“Trust me, with the person I’m after, the ability to cut straight through twisting words is exactly the kind of thing I need. I could use the help if you’re willing.”

It was strange, being asked instead of being told. Desmond couldn’t remember a single time in his life something had been a request.

At least this time he wouldn’t have his brain scrambled… probably.

“Fuck it, I have nothing better going on.”

Varric’s smile was wide as he set Bianca to the side, still within easy arms reach but far enough away that he couldn’t shoot Desmond before he could move. Not that he could have if he had the crossbow pressed against the back of Desmond’s head, but the gesture what seen and understood all the same.

“Welcome aboard, Rook. How do you feel about pissing off a god?”

Desmond Miles tipped his head back and laughed.

#the elf talks #dragon age #assassins creed #the elf’s birthday week bash #I was so stumped on this one and then ‘Desmond as rook’ hit me like a brick to the face and it all made sense #Varric seeing a incredibly talented fighter clearly running from something who has anger issues and glows when pissed: Ah shit not again #also would work very well for a possible Lucanis/Desmond angle

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