#mikey in the space arc literally gets me so excited there's so much good stuff going on there

[its-captain-sir]

TMNT Chicago Style Iteration Ask Game

DAY 6 - Mikey

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Mikey is the youngest of the group and is a spotted turtle! He's maybe a little behind his brothers at times because of their age difference, but that mostly ceases to be an issue in their later teen years. Also an ADHD legend.

Mikey is the jack of all trades of the group. Kind of hand in hand with the ADHD and always feeling like he had to catch up to his brothers, Mikey has a bazillion hobbies. He'll give anything a try at least once and after a while, he just has so many skills that they all play into each other and help him learn more new skills. Stuff tends to come to him pretty easily, which isn't to say that he doesn't ever try (cause him always wanting to try extra hard is why he's like this in the first place), but just that he's built himself such a good basis he can be really adaptive towards anything new.

His family is really encouraging in regards to his hobbies and interests and is often a little amused by them (lots of good natured comments like "of course you mastered [x], what thing are you trying now" or "wow that's the third thing you've picked up this week", etc). If there's ever a random weird skill set they need, chances are Mikey can do it, even if he may have to remind them that it is in fact something he can do.

This quality of his however is something that really introduces tension between him and Donnie once the family starts really getting into mystics. Mikey's pretty naturally gifted at magic to begin with, but once given a little bit of direction he picks up the practical applications and spellcasting incredibly quick, something that annoys Donnie to no end as he really had to struggle through understanding mysticism and still finds certain aspects difficult. In his eyes, his little brother just came in and instantly got it, and that lingering jealousy combined with some other key differences in their mystic-related world views makes things strained between them for a while. They're nowhere near as bad as Raph and Leo of course, but still, the only time they'll ever present a united front during this period is when they're telling off Raph and Leo for trying to give them conflict advice.

Speaking of other brothers, Mikey is probably closest with Raph. It started when they were younger; the twins would always run off to do stuff together, so the two of them got used to doing things together too. Raph really occupied that "cool older brother" spot for him and included him as much as he could in activities. The age difference was a little more pronounced as kids, and Mikey probably got involved in or saw things that maybe he shouldn't have so young, but he mostly turned out fine. All of this is to say, the two of them share interests and activities all the time, and Mikey really looks up to Raph.

That last little bit unfortunately gets weaponized by Leo when he's criticizing Raph for not being a good role model, though he's usually the one to not baby Mikey at all outside of that. Those months where Raph is missing, Mikey barely processes them at all cause so much of his life revolves around the little things they shared together and he kinda doesn't know what to do with himself in the absence of that. He also takes the aftermath at the farmhouse the hardest, watching Raph act like a ghost while Leo's in a coma. His loss of innocence there reflects the beginning of the end of their childhood.

Mikey's journey overall is intrinsically tied to the turtles' coming of age, story-wise, and the third arc really makes use of that. That's their space arc, when the full wide world of the universe truly opens up to them, and the focusing being on Mikey for the arc is no coincidence. His openness and willingness to make friends is essential for them to gather allies against the krang, and the group's development is marked by how he learns advocacy for himself and others, which represents the way they finally come into themselves and begin to shake off all the forces seeking to control them. The friendships he spearheads with Leatherhead, Renet, and Traximus become absolutely crucial here.