#thank you for the ask! i love them

[a-tale-of-legends]

What is Hop's emotional journey regarding Naomi like? He does trust her and believes she can do more than she thinks, but it also gets tangled with his desire to make a name for himself. The 'story' he wants to get told about him a the next champion. So he props her up as his strongest rival for his own sake. How does he react when she grows more independent, more self-assured, but also irritated, then calls him out? When does he become aware of what he was doing?

Not to mention how his self-confidence gets shaken across the weeks, contrasted to her rising own self-confidence and independency. It's just compelling.

Hehe, i'm glad you find them interesting!

Hop is soooo interesting cause in canon he already goes through A Lot. He has an ego about being able to beat Leon and make his legend come true, but also has an inferiority complex in that he doesn't truly think anyone can beat Lee because it's Lee! Including himself, not really. Very similar to Naomi once being okay being in Hop's shadow, Hop was okay with being in Leon's shadow while also wanting to be him. Simultaneous superiority-inferiority complex, if that makes sense. All of it revolving around Leon. But that image gets challenged so much. Bede says that he's squandering Leon's name, and that's what makes Hop spiral. He cares about his brother's image so much that the thought of him ruining it deeply upsets him! So now he's questioning if he's really even good enough, trying to get stronger to prove that he's strong and to prove that he isn't hindering Leon ( do you ever think how Leon says Hop apologized to him after being defeated by Bede? It's always been about Leon to the poor kid)

And now we get to Naomi, who's not only growing more confident, but is constantly winning. Winning against him. Every passing moment the story he had in his head is crumbling to dust. He doesn't resent her for it. He can't. He sees her growing out of her shell more and more and he's so proud. But he's losing. If he can't score a win against his rival, what good is he to Lee? To himself? I think Naomi getting irritated and calling him out is what crashes things into perspective. Because just like how Hop loves Leon, Hop loves Naomi. And to realize that he has been treating his best friend in the whole entire world the way he has guts him. Possibly harder than what Bede says to him. Naomi has made what could have been a very very lonely childhood a lot less lonely. Believed in him when others didn't. And what did he have to show for it? " You'll be my sidekick, my number two!" What a joke....

It's so. Complicated. How Hop feels. He feels like everything he ever dreamed of, ever worked for is slipping right through his hands, that he isn't good enough, and maybe it was never meant to be, and yet. Naomi is out there being the brightest she's ever been and he can't hate. Not a bone in his body could ever resent her. So it just falls back into himself. I wouldn't be surprised if he,for a moment, thought she hated him( she doesn't lol, she's just frustrated and honestly needed space). There's also the aspect of Hop realizing that. Um. Maybe putting your older brother's image above your own self is not healthy. At all. And maaaaaybe recognize the other people in your life has been doing that to you as well? This isn't something he fully gets by the end of swsh- I think it's a slow realization that takes some years to really settle in and something he ( and his family) has to grapple with. Swsh is more of a. Kinda realizing the door is there. Fully realizing it, opening it and going through it is something gradual,a bit slower.

Also just. I cannot stress enough that Hop adores Naomi and still loves that she's growing more into herself. Like despite how he treated her, it's important to note that he still believed in her! He believed that she could take on the gym challenge!!! Outside of "his legend", Hop honestly just wanted Naomi to be there with him for the gym challenge. He respects her enough to see her own greatness, just at the time, it was greatness that was going to make him greater.

Fortunately, they do talk things through and make up, their bond growing even stronger than before. I think they missed each other, tbh. It's always been Hop and Naomi, and them not being attached to the hip is. Odd. Maybe a minor co-dependent thing that they work through, especially with Naomi in general being more independent than she was before.

In the end, Hop's vision goes from " my story, my legend" to "our story, our legend". Him and Naomi. Together. Just like it always has been. Nothing of Hop shining greater than Naomi. Naomi never wanted to shine greater than Hop. They can shine together.

[blue-phoria]

Narisham headcanons ?

Shamura writes him poetry while they are chained, but forgot to send even one... Some days they even forget his true name and face, the unnameable, and unimaginable grief still lingers. When indoctrinated by the lamb, Shamura still lives in the time where they were still lovers. Narinder cries because he hurt them so badly, yet they do not hate him, they do not know...

[magicicephoenix]

Poor Sunny is at his thin line of patience! How about we add a new rule buddy, shall we!?

*scribble scribble*

There! Now they should stop with that "I was crazy once and yada yada yada"

The new rule said "At the daycare is not allowed says I was crazy once or jokes that are close to it"

If they keep going well, I guess you have to ban lots of people Sun *shrugs*

finally, Sun gets the break he deserves 🙏

non-anon askers tagged under the cut :)

@jfjustjackie

@star-bean-shine

@thefallenhumanlivingnightmares

@ender-eyes

@dimension-hopper-anon

@chaotic-beehive

@jack-o-moon-askblog

@youracebuddy

@tired-robo-mask

@raccoons-in-a-dumpster

@justfangirlstuffs

@newstar11

[egophiliac]

What do you like about the Diasomnia boys if I may ask?

I always love hearing about the different reasons people enjoy characters.

I mean, c'mon. he has split custody over Sebek okay

also, Lilia in particular has maybe the best timeskip character development of all time

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

In the world of heavy metals, love is denser than hate!

[buttonheart]

Fashionistas

[somnimagus]

My page for @sheikahzine; about Impaz's duty to her village, empty of people and full of memories.

[id in alt text]

[bixels]

Why the hell, shit, you damned bastard son of a bitch

[inumbrapugnabimus-maybe]

For your art requests, could you draw Wars and Twi just hangin out? Maybe looking for cool rocks?

- crazylittlejester

Just two bros havin a good time

they also went fishing btw

[enden-agolor]

may I request a little sleepy Jesskas doodle?

(also please remember to take care of yourself! Don’t burn yourself out! Your a huge inspiration to me and others and you are appreciated!!!)

i mean sure. i GUESS i can do that 🙄

also thank you. i promise i pace myself properly and don't go through too much burn out. im so happy i can inspire you and others with the silly block guys : ]

[kandismon]

totally lore-accurate swanqueen screencap redraws 4/∞

they're on their first date :3c

[loves2spwge]

they just want to be one...

commissions @jolyonvane did for me where i asked if he could please please please make stan look as desperate and exhausted as he usually does but is being kept together by all his love for his sbf kyle

[artsymeeshee]

LITTLE BOYS 🥺🥺🥺

[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

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Congratulations to TEAM CHEESE for winning the popular vote on the Charcuterie poll!

[azen13]

Since Dan Heng is getting a rerun right now, do you have any yan thoughts about him?? He’s so silly…

CW: Yandere Themes

⋆⁺₊⋆ ☾⋆⁺₊⋆

He is so silly...I do love Dan Heng, he was actually my first main in HSR! I don't think I've posted much of him here though because I have literally no idea about any of the Xianzhou lore sldkjsdgsdg so bear with me lol.

I'm going to make a distinction between Dan Heng and Dan Feng here, as I think the two would have vastly different approaches to how they interact with a love interest. If we're talking about straight canon, the only thing that's changed is that Dan Heng is a yandere, then I think he's extremely subtle about it. First, because that's just his personality. Dan Heng isn't prone to histrionics; he's more practical. Second, because if he isn't, Himeko or Welt could notice, and then who knows what would happen. They might take you away from him, and he can't have that.

So he has to play it cool, keep his obsession undetectable. It shows up in small ways: how he always makes sure to be by your side during missions, even when the Trailblazer and March run off; how he lets you stay in his room whenever you'd like, even if it's just to hang out; how he holds your hand tightly whenever danger approaches, to the point where by now, your palm must be molded to the shape of his fingers. In a similar vein, he works to slowly mold your mind, doing his best to convince you that you can come to him with any problems or worries and he'll help you.

He starts making entries for you in the databank, chock full of your likes and dislikes, your habits, your routine, everything and anything. It's a strange hobby he almost seems to take pleasure in, compiling everything he knows about you. Anytime he learns something new, best believe he'll be heading off to his room to write it down and save it for later. Eventually, he starts using all of that information to his advantage: you like a certain scent? Soon enough, Dan Heng vaguely smells like it. You enjoy hugs? Dan Heng will awkwardly try to fold his arms around you back. You have a favorite food? Dan Heng makes it for you almost daily, until he's mastered it.

I will say he definitely struggles to fight against the draconic urge to hoard you away in his room. To try to tamp down that need, he develops a bad habit of stealing your belongings. Nothing big, just things you might not notice if they go missing. A piece of paper you scribble on, a pen cap that you chew on, a sock forgotten in the recesses of a dryer. He stows it away safely, somewhere nobody will ever find.

One day, he'll do the same with you. Only you'll come alone willingly.