#residuum Donnie my love

[rainyraisin]

Fanart for @rottmnt-residuum because I’ve been reading it for a good while now and I’ve always wanted to make fanart but I was too scared to ask if I was allowed hgfhbjghvbj

But turns out the creator likes fanart so yay!!! :D

I didn’t really have any ideas though so uh have a quick shitpost based on the @tmntaucompetition

He’s trying to figure out if he can throw a basketball at Bishop without getting caught 💪💪💪

I promise I’ll do an actual drawing at some point gfhjgyffjh

[boxfullaturtles]

“Science may have found a cure for most evils; but it has found no remedy for the worst of them all—the apathy of human beings.” - Helen Keller

I fuckin love @rottmnt-residuum

[rottmnt-residuum]

im going feral

Day 24: Peeling Layer by Layer

Take my pride, take my life, take my body But don't take the ones that are close to me Oh, do with me what you want But please don't hurt my family - Bad Bad Things by AJJ

i'm not obsessed with @rottmnt-residuum i don't know what you're talking abou--(i trip and thousands of pictures of residuum spill out of my pockets)

[rottmnt-residuum]

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

[rottmnt-residuum]

In an ask you said that there won't be anything more severe than a lobotomy, but that doesn't mean there won't be anything worse, depending on what we consider worse I guess. But I'm still stuck at the lobotomy part and the effects of that. More like the emotional and mental part, since if I'm not mistaken it wasn't rare for patients to kinda lose... their empathy, or like feelings that they had for loved ones. I could be wrong but this thought just keeps bugging me.

Also will you explore the aftermath and healing part after their well, suffering ends? All the effects of what they've been through?

And... what do you exactly consider worse than a lobotomy? Like what type of thing could be worse in your opinion?

^^^ tags from a different ask.

While a decrease in empathy can happen- it's just one of the many symptoms of brain damage in general. Because what happens to Donnie, while technically a lobotomy, is basically just very deliberate brain damage. More in line with past lobotomies than current ones. It's very much not a targeted thing and more a, 'let's cause havoc til whatever we don't want to happen doesn't happen anymore!'

In Donnie's case, the area that is the most effected is the region of the brain responsible for speech and language. Of course the brain isn't really separated into sections that aggressively, so some other things will be effected, but that will be the most obvious difference. In fact, it's something you can already see happening if you paid attention in the ninpo space.

However, there are other things going on with Donnie, so be careful with what you identify as a symptom of brain damage.

Loss of empathy was never something we were going to go for, as it's very much... not something we enjoy? As well as something we see as very undermining of his established character. We don't really like the fandom interpretation of a low empathy Donnie, either. We see Donnie as very empathic, he just doesn't show it in a way that a lot of people would recognize. He's very much a fixer.

And while losing empathy could be interesting to explore, it very much conflicts with the themes of Residuum as a whole. So, not something y'all have to worry about ahaha

Aftermath wise... well, that's pretty far off. So my feelings might change, but I've never enjoyed healing narratives. Granted, it's just how other people handle them that I don't enjoy. So, I suppose yes, we would be exploring the consequences, but much of that is already planned in Residuum. Though, not really with a... comfort aspect. Anyway. If a healing arc does happen, it will either be an epilogue, its own comic, or something that co-author would do.

Also, can you really look at what I've done so far and honestly say that I'd be able to write comfort/fluff?

...Though, if y'all really wanted it, I guess I could try skskskskks

As for what I find worse than a lobotomy... In Residuum, the worst possible thing that could happen to someone, in my opinion, is demutation.