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yzafre · 3 months ago

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thoughts on tmnt 2003

I finally finished watching 2003 for the first time! I've been compiling thoughts as I go along, so here they all are, for the "I like hearing what new people think of my favorite things" crowd (and also just to give myself a place to put them).

Spoiler alert: it's mostly positive, and forgiving of the less-than-positive. This gets long, so I put it below a read more:

Okay, so I saw everyone talking about how different Rise was from 2012, and how it jarred people, and some people couldn’t stomach it, but I never saw anyone mentioning 2003’s place in this discussion? Because I didn’t realize just how much 2012 pulled from 2003, and I feel like the expectations that set about what it means to do a new iteration of the franchise definitely had a place in how people received something different

On that note, I kind of want to do a “who wore it better” post about all the arcs 2012 adapted... (although 2003 probably also pulled its ideas from somewhere else – I've heard the comics, maybe? I barely know anything about those, so have no idea how closely they’re connected.).

The City at War arc (good series of episodes, btw) really clarified a point of difference for me in how I understand 2003 and 2012 Raphael. And by that I mean I think 12!Raph would agree with 03!Leo? Not on the honor/it’s our fault point, but on the “the gangs are out there hurting people, and we should do something about it”. I’d need to re-watch some episodes to check my work here (I think the episode where they meet Murakami sticks out most in my head?) but 12!Raph seemed to have – at least verbally – an investment in the idea of stopping bad guys simply because they were hurting people.

Okay so obviously Same As It Never Was is agonizing, BUT. Leo in Usagi’s world was SOOOOO funny to me. omg. Everyone just being all “ninja deceit”! “Dishonorable ninja”!! With Leo’s whole... deal. Like from the beginning of the show I was like “isn’t bushido a samurai thing?” when Leo brought it up, so to see it being highlighted here is. Mwah. Even Usagi being “bluh bluh you’re turning me into a ninja with all this sneaking around >:(". SO funny. I was dying.

I’ve talked several times on how 2012 invested in inter-connected, long-form plots rather than being purely episodic, so it’s interesting to see 2003 move that way as the seasons go on! I don’t think it ever quite reaches the level of ‘12, but you can definitely see how the writers were inspired by the plot work going on here, and went “okay, can we do that but more?” The differences between how the two shows do it is interesting, too, but that would be a whole other conversation.

Similarly, I can see how part of Rise’s inspirations might’ve been some of the weirder world-building stuff going on in ‘03. Everything about the underground city/ the Y’Lyntians, the idea of the Utrom/Kraang being here since long ago, all the more mystic stuff that ‘12 only sometimes dabbled in. ((I also think part of the way Rise was written was to be in dialogue with the themes of ‘03 and ‘12, but that’s also a different conversation.))

I was aware of Grudge Match before watching the show, but given what I knew about it I honestly expected Mikey to be much more obnoxious about it? Like yes he wouldn’t shut up about it in the multi-part immediately after the Nexus arc, but after that it seemed like he only mentioned it, what, once every couple episodes? Grudge Match implies he was louder about it off screen – which would be in character – but given how good the show usually is at “show don’t tell” for setting up characterization it stood out to me.

Okay this is petty but. I am getting very tired of the constant movie quotes. Stop that.

Okay so on the topic of “show don’t tell” characterization – Leo's ptsd arc was good. Like this was a thing I knew about before starting the show but everyone was right it was goooood. Like obviously within the limitations of a kids show, but a wonderful amount of nuance for that audience. It tracks so well start to finish, even from season 1 where Leo was shown to have this. Really strong but devastatingly rigid sense of identity? Like what it means to be a warrior, and who he has to be because of that. Like the thing with his identity being tied to the swords, and then the reason why he was tempted by Shredder’s initial (lying) offer. It all tracks to like. Okay when he fails. When he can’t live up to it. Of course it shattered his mental state and threatened his sense of identity. Of course it did. And then just several arcs of different plots but with this other character story woven through them. Just in how he was approaching it. This is the shit I was wanting from ‘12 the whole time.

And Usagiiii. Usagi. I love him so much, and this was such great use of him. Building up a solid, believable foundation for a very enjoyable relationship between him and Leo, then bringing it back at this critical juncture in Leo’s character. FUCK their conversations in Samura Tourist were so good. Amazing. Fantastic.

Actually just all the work that’s done with the turtle’s allies is great. The homeless/junkyard people. The super-heroes. Leatherhead. Usagi. The Daimyo. Just... all of it? I love it? It makes the world feel more alive and the turtles grounded in it as like. Real people. Who make connections and upkeep them and. Yeah I love it.

I reached Tale of Master Yoshi and noooooo it’s. It’s the 2012. It’s the 2012 backstory. The inspiration for 2012’s whole thing… its right here… ((Although is it just me or,,, does Yoshi (our hero) look a lot more western compared to Mashimi (our villain)? There’s something about that.... hm. Hmmmmm.))

Hello season 5! A!Ni!Me! Bullshit!!! Very accelerated anime bullshit. Obliviously this is a huge inspiration for Rise, though I appreciate that that show took more time for the powers to build up. Also the ninja tribunal are assholes and very questionable teachers. Would it kill you to actually explain anything ever.

Huhhh okay so I am picking up a LOT of Rise vibes not just from the mystic powers/glowy lines, but from Splinter’s deal with the ninja tribunal, and how they wouldn’t hesitate to sacrifice the boys, and how the brothers need to stick together. VERY reminiscent of Rise!Splinter’s deal with the Hamato.

Noooo not Oroku Saki getting possessed by a demon. Hello Rise backstory. I see. It really all comes back to 2003 doesn’t it? Rise was definitely made by people who looked at S5 and went “okay, can we do that but more?”

Have I talked about how much I love that from the beginning the show was just like “oh yeah also actual superheroes exist in this world, it’s just an accepted thing”? Because I do. Love it a lot. Having most of them be really old/kinda retired/people are forgetting about them was a good idea though because otherwise. Their spotty presence at cataclysmic events would be much more noticeable.

Dragon fight is cool. That is all.

The fact that at this point Stockman is just straight up like “Let me die. Please let me die” is. Well it sure is something!

I’d heard the last two seasons weren’t as good and… yeah. Like it’s not bad, it’s just… less good. I miss the world and characters of the previous season. Though hey did the Rise gear designs steal some inspo from this season?

HOWEVER. The episode introducing the dark turtles. Where Leo’s like “if you’re really my clone, you should value honor and the code of bushido!” and his counterpart just... stares solemnly for an extended time before being like “lmao yeah nope” and sucker punching him was hilarious, and got a sharp laugh out of me. Favorite moment in this season. I actually liked this episode overall, too.

So. Hm. Mikey has always been very un-serious – a jokester, (verbally) a bit of a coward at times, easily distracted. But as this season goes on it really feels like they’re amping it up/exaggerating those traits, to the point of stripping away anything else at times. Similarly, his brother’s willingness to indulgence/reactions to his silliness seems to fluctuate wildly, but on a downward trend - they always razzed him, but in this season... well they paired his increased goof-offs with increased put downs/jokes about it. This, while a bit annoying to me as a characterization choice, does track on a more meta-textual level. By this point it’s 2006-2007. 2007 is the year Big Bang Theory aired, which I find to be, uh…. Tonally representative of the cultural attitude in the US between 2008 annnnd… 2013-ish? There was this extra-concentrated feeling of, like… snideness and sarcasm that I remember around that time period. It’s also very prominent in TMNT 2012 – especially in Season 1 (when binging that show I was hit by high school memories so viscerally that I said, out loud, “oh, GOD, we really were all Like That, weren’t we?” only a few episodes in). Similarly to my post about the increasing frequency of the “Gibbs slap”, I find it interesting to see the way the changing attitudes are reflected in the same show as time passes.

LET STOCKMAN REST jeZUS

Overall, I see three kinds of episodes in season 6: mediocre, good, and what I call “good but out of order”. What I mean by that last bit, is like… okay, the Graduation episode was good in theory, but felt very strange coming after Season 4/5, you get me? Things where the concept is solid, but seems to be placed in the wrong position in their arcs, which I think is a knock-off effect from the lightened tone of the season.

Oh. I just got to the second episode of S7 and. I don’t…. hm. So, I could deal with the simplified designs in Fast Forward, because they got some cool new gear stuff added in as well, but this is. Uh. Worse. But even beyond that – the dynamics also feel sort of off. If Casey has been going to this gym for a while, why is April only now doing something about it….? I don’t feel like she would have let this go just because the guys weren’t there. Also I'm putting it down here now that I think the whole digital world thing is kinda dumb

I do think 2012 looked at a lot of the ideas for S7 and went “interesting idea, we can do it way better”, which I commend them for. Admittedly, these can also be stock tropes: April getting possessed also reminds me of Ghost Busters/Zuul, and mind control is a pretty standard trope, but… well, you know. 2012 took so much else from 2003, you can’t help but wonder if they pulled inspiration here, too.

Oh they are wayyyy over-using the Shredder/Foot Clan sting/motif this season and it is getting,,, annoying,,,

I kept waiting to see what they were doing with it, but they did not handle Donnie’s guilt arc with anywhere near the finesse they did Leo’s. It wasn’t… horrible, I guess. It’s just notably lacking in comparison. They didn't even have Leo really sit down with him to talk about his own experience like???

I did appreciate them bringing back all those side characters in the finale. I’ve already mentioned I love the plethora of allies and friends they gave the turtles in this iteration, so obviously that was going to please me, though they could have gotten a little bit better showing in the final fight.

Lmao the guy I thought was gonna be rat king!!!! He’s there lurking and watching in the distance???

Good show! But yeah I’d agree with people who say that the heart of the show is really in the first 5 seasons. After that the characters and stories feel a bit… flattened? The more I pushed through the last two seasons, the more I was missing the first 5, which I really, really enjoyed. Ranking on my personal tastes of the series I’ve watched so far, meeting each show where it's at, it goes Rise > 2003 > 2012. Rise and 2003 are really close, with Rise just beating it on account of “it was my first show” and also “I REALLY like anime bullshit”, although there’s potential for that to shift or fluctuate as it marinates in my brain. That being said, 2012 is the one that makes the creative part of my brain go crunch-crunch, so take that as you will. Continuing to go backwards puts me at the 1987 series, so I suppose that’s next. I have plans to watch the new TotTMNT with family during the holiday season, so unfortunately I’m up for an (agonizing) wait on that one.

#tmnt #tmnt 2003 #yza talks about a thing

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silvercityyir · 1 month ago

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Karma read by Michealangelo

AO3

Summary: Based on my headcannon that after the event of Grudge Match, Mikey reads about karma.

This is my first tmnt fanfic, I enjoy writing Mikey and Splinter here since Splinter reminded me of my own parents. it was just a little idea that I once ramble on tumblr and it grew into a fic but only ended up as a one shot because I wasn't able to work on the ideas due to irl stuffs that I need to do. I only wrote about the definitions of karma although I read online article as I write, but I'm sure my way of understanding it is just different because my religion is not budshism or hinduism so the understanding is only surface level. So, apologies in advance, to anyone who's religion is hinduism or buddhism if I offended you with this fic. Originally, want to I wanted to write another chapter and make it a series tittled 'Wise Guy Michealangelo' but I don't really have any ideas for the next chapter so I'll leave it as one shot for now.

English isn't my mother tounge so let me know if I make a mistake grammer, or spellings in the comments.

“Psst, uh, Master Splinter, are you still up?”

“Michelangelo?” Splinter opened the door to see his son, but rather than the usual mischievous self or at least before the battle nexus rematch a grin full of pride with his happy go-lucky expression, now stood a sheepish turtle “Is there something the matter, my son?”

As he recalled Leonardo was the one who helped Michelangelo for the Battle Nexus rematch which turned into a grudge match but he managed to survive the match. Splinter was slightly worried for Michelangelo with Leonardo’s inner turmoil…anger – Did he get scolded by Leonardo while he was trained? Splinter does not know. He chose not to intervene and told Donnie and Raph not to either. It all worked out just as he prayed for.

“Remember what you said about karma that day, before Battle Nexus? Somehow I can’t stop thinking about ‘karma’...I know it means like, do bad and I got something worse than that, which happened and after the match that day, then I remember the karma book that you have, I want to read if that’s ok with you.

There was a pause between them. Splinter blinks twice and his ears shot up.He raised his right arm and pointed beside his head.

“Get out of my home, ghost,”

“Dad?! It–it’s me, I’m not a ghost, how could you say that?”

“Oh, it is you, Michelangelo, Sorry, I am very sorry my son. It is not like you to request such a thing that I even nearly thought that you were a ghost in disguise. I guess ghosts cannot take form of us mutants”

“Daaaad, I’m not a ghost, I really, really,really, really want to read your karma book. I should’ve come in the morning but I don’t think I really want Leo, Raph and Don weird stares and their ‘lectures’ at me just yet. Especially Raph and Don”

Mikey whines and hugs him. Splinter pats his on the shell.

“I am very, very sorry, my son, a similar thing happened to Master Yoshi in the past that I was able to bare witness off, I was merely doing what he did at the time, I guess I did not understand why he did so,”

“Wha…?” “That is a tale for another time, I will give you the book, but if you want lessons about it, it shall be in the morning, my son.”

“Hai, Dad.”

He bowed.

Splinter takes the karma scroll from the shelf and gives it to him. Mikey’s eyes lit up, smiling, like when he receive a comic but as his hands touch the book, Splinter tightens his grip on it, one more thing:

“Take very care of it, it has notes, hand written by Master Yoshi and his master,”

“Keep it away from Klunk, dirty spaces and everything else, ”

He releases his grip on the book and lets his son take it. They both exchange bows and Mikey returns to his room, walking happily, as if he just got a new comic or a new dvd. Splinter feels no worry for the karma book that he gave to Mikey, perhaps he’ll be more focused in his training, his sons are growing up little by little, and he will grow older little by little, time has passed by without realizing.

As a father, his heart feels heavy for Leonardo’s mental state since Shredder’s defeat, what should he do? What should he tell him? He tries not to worry too much. He’ll work something out, perhaps tomorrow he should meditate with all four of his sons.

Leonardo often meditates in his free time with incense or candle but he did not smell any of it tonight instead there was a small sound woosh from above, only Leonardo’s room had a long piece of worn fabric at the door. Splinter’s ears could only flick at sound from what it seems to be the source of the sound as he closed his eyes and let his body rest for the night.

For a moment, he recalled the tale he had told Michealangelo about, he was surprised that he remembered the spirit bothering Master Yoshi who was bothered by his restless sleep and he stood his ground, telling it to get out of his apartment.

Splinter had no voice back then but his admiration for Yoshi was astonishing as ever. Yoshi, on the other hand, thought that he was frightened by the ghost, he could not bring himself to ‘correct’ him even if he had a voice.

“Have I made the right choice, Master Yoshi? It was yours and Ancient One’s book after all.”

Splinter sat down and gazed at the framed photo of his Master.

“I trust Michelangelo, he has always been a cheeky boy since he was a baby, always have, he can be overconfident when he is confident but he is optimistic and idealistic, I do not worry about him now.”

“If I made a wrong choice, will you come and haunt me?”

The photo said nothing.

“I’m only joking.”

Splinter chuckle.

As he was about to sleep. He heard something from outside of his room. He rather not guess and went to sleep.

____________________________________________________________________________

He just wants to lie down and read the karma book but it seems that Klunk has dominated his bed. And Mikey finds his beloved cat, Klunk, sleeping with her belly up, and her paws almost like she was jumping like a cartoon character yelling ‘yahoo’.

He is laughing, wheezing, clutching his stomach as tears welling up his eyes.

“I-I– can’t believe you sleep– like tha–’’

He felt something bending against his plastron–The karma book! Mikey immediately pull himself upright, checking the book's condition. Luckily, it did not bend so much. He let out a sigh of relief.

“Good thing you’re ok,”

He looked back at Klunk that slept soundly with an extreme pose, stroking her head before taking the pillow and dropped himself to the extra blanket on the floor. He lay on his stomach comfortably and he read and read throughout the night.

When he had finished reading the book, he looked at the time at the alarm clock on the floor, it is five a.m. Morning already!

Strange, what time did he ask Splinter to borrow the book again? Like he would know, he did not look at the clock, rather just waiting for his brothers to sleep then went out and ask him for it – but he shook his head, put the karma book on top of his pile of comic books before he sinks his head into the pillow and sleeps in peace but his mind voice some questions. loudly.

What he understood about karma is that, it is not just bad action that leads to a worse future consequences, it can even affect ones life when they reincarnate.

Reincarnate...

An intriguing word that, somehow he cannot explain, it's a word that calms him, or maybe it is sleep embracing him. He wants to ask Splinter and tell Splinter what he understood. But he should sleep first.

#tmnt #tmnt 2003 #tmnt fanfiction #silver writes #writing

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brightlotusmoon · 10 months ago

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'Cause you are the sun, he is your moon/And though he can't speak, he will thank you soon - naivesilver - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TV 2003) [Archive of Our Own]

Finally, he manages to clamp his mouth shut, but by then it’s too late. The dirty laundry has been left to air out in public, and there’s no way to get rid of the smell, now - and Raph ’s the one who had to listen to all of that, to boot. Darn it. That’s just about Mikey’s worst nightmare, except he is already more than awake at this point.

He almost wishes it were Leo, instead. Donnie indulges him too, most of the time, but Donnie’s got even more reasons to be bitter about the whole Nexus debacle, since he got eliminated at the first round - Leo might be demanding and stiff and too-serious when he puts his mind to it, and he’s not been himself lately, but he still stepped up to help when Mikey had lost hope. It would be easier to stomach, criticism from Leo.

But Raph- Mikey’s been keeping an eye out for Raph’s reaction to what he does since they were babies , even if it was mostly to annoy his brother. He gets away with a lot of stuff even Casey can’t do around Raph, and he knows that Raph’s always going to have his back in case of trouble, at least until it’s safe enough to flick him over the head and call him an idiot.

Raph laughing about him getting thrown to the lions hurt more than anything else, but no one was supposed to hear of it, least of all Raph himself.

This is a fantastic Grudge Match fic and it's everything I wished could have happened. And the author lovingly describes Mikey's Little Brother Image in a way that makes his relationship with each brother even lovelier.

#fic rec #tmnt fanfiction #tmnt grudge match #tmnt 2003

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katanashipping · 9 months ago

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behold the face of a man who abruptly realizes that he just spectacularly fucked up

I rewatched "Grudge Match" yesterday for the hell of it and god damn, I really forgot how good this episode is (especially knowing it's technically one of the filler episodes.)

Even though Leonardo is still struggling emotionally in the aftermath of Exodus, we see in this episode that beneath all his anger, frustration, and anxiety, his calmer, more gentle side still exists. He could have easily chosen to be wary of or even openly hostile towards the Daimyo's son due to their past conflicts when Ue was still the Ultimate Ninja (something that Ue doesn't even remember due to being revived as an innocent child,) but he not only agrees to be his friend, but is openly protective of him. I need more Leo and child!Ue interactions, k.

Holy fuck, Michelangelo. He spent the majority of this episode desperately trying to get out of his rematch with Kluh and during the first part of the fight, he nearly gets beaten to a pulp. Unfortunately, Kluh's big mistake was to threaten Mikey's family while taunting him over his seemingly inevitable defeat, triggering a recent memory of Leo telling Mikey that in their lives, they only have each other and if one of them falls, they all fall. At that point, Mikey goes completely apeshit on Kluh's ass and by god, it's a treat to watch. At one point, he is wielding one of his nunchaku by his ankle. Like??? Of all the episodes that hammer the point home that Mikey is actually the most naturally talented of his brothers and is formidable in a fight as long as he stays focused, this one does it the best.

Edit: Behold, BAMF Mikey in action

#tmnt 2k3 #tmnt 2003 #grudge match #ugh I love that episode

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lycanthropiclesbians · 4 months ago

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ask game!!

3 what was your first impression of tmnt 2003

10. which version of Leonardo is your favorite

27. What is something you love to see in tmnt art/fics

Thank you so much!!

My first impression of 2003... hm, it's been a minute. Years ago on a different account, I had a mutual who was starting to get into TMNT, 2012 and Rise. And I was like, I think I could get into this. (Underestimation of the year!) So I started looking into it myself, and it seemed like whenever I encountered anything 2003 (which was rare), there was a 70/30 chance it was about SAINW, which was SO confusing. So my first impression of 2003, just by way of fanart and fic, was: what on Earth is going on?!

Speaking of 2003, I think he has to be my favorite Leonardo. He's just so... noble. He knows his values and he stands by them again and again and again, even and especially when it's dangerous. And I think he's a really great leader and big brother--s4e6: Grudge Match comes to mind. Also, during the Ultimate Drako arc when everyone is separated, they all first call for Master Splinter, then Leo. It really showed how much they all trust and depend on him. And I forget which episode it is (it was maybe during his depression/PTSD arc in s4?), but at some point Mikey gives this little speech about how different they would all have to be if Leo weren't so dependable. There's just so many examples of that, of how good he is. But then he's also a dork who practices his lines in the mirror and rides a scooter and he's maybe a little shy. Quintessential Leonardo.

2012 Leo is a close runner up though. He's a total fanboy and general dork, and I LOVE that about him. He's a mother hen. He is extremely good at blaming himself for everything. He tries to be bossy and sassy but everyone is just like "Awe, that was cute." His fight-or-flight response is to decapitate (again I forget which episode, but sometime in s3 when they're looking for mutated Karai in an abandoned carnival). He hallucinates. He has some terrible internalized ableism. What more could you ask for in a character? My sweet, deeply traumatized little guy.

Something I love to see in art/fics is more exaggerated turtle characteristics!! I want attention to claws and scales and third eyelids. I want beaks and tails. I want them to hear below what humans do and communicate in those frequencies. I want a semi-cold-blooded nature and all that entails. I want their shells and plastrons to get in the way of things; make it an integral part of them, not just an afterthought! I love that stuff.

Thank you again for the ask!

#op

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starsfic · 1 year ago

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Summaries:

After all the events of S4 Sun Wukong is forced to realize that a good chunk of the stuff that he and others have been blaming him for isn't his fault and he goes to therapy and starts doing old hobbies again, working towards putting himself in a better mental health state. Also Macaque and Azure Lion get banned from his mountain but they refuse to accept that.

AU inspired by the King Thrushbeard fairytale, where Red Son refuses all suitors until his father decides to marry him off to the next peasant who walks through the door. Except Qi Xiaotian isn't royalty, but very kind.

Political drama au where to reduce the offers for his hand, Sun Wukong marries Azure Lion. This backfires because now eyes are turning to Qi Xiaotian, his successor. Now Wukong has to juggle Azure’s feelings for him and arranging a match for Xiaotian.

My TMNT incarnation, episode 1: After befriending April O'Neil, the Hamato brothers and Casey Jones must rescue her from a mysterious baron with a sinister plan.

AU where Long Xiaojiao's best friend's new husband is strange and a giant red bull has been killing livestock.

DND AU, Lionpeach fic where Azure Lion gets invited to DND Night

Spicynoodles is very happy together and just had a baby girl when one of Qi Xiaotian's exes claims that he and Xiaotian have had an affair and the baby is his...the baby who is the splitting image of Red as a calf.

Xiaojiao jokingly challenges Red to a duel only for both of their families to take it super seriously, especially when old grudges (aka Ao Lie’s death) are brought up

The beginning of my Scooby Doo incarnation. After a summer at home, Mystery Incorporated try to head back to college. The key word is try.

Set sometime before Agony of a Witch, Raine Whispers is sent to the weekly Coven Head meeting- which is basically just an excuse to hang out at a bar and bitch. They meet up again with Lilith, drinks are drunk, and Lilith ends up drunkenly confessing the truth about Eda's curse to a less drunk Raine.

#LMK #Monkie Kid #LEGO Monkie Kid #Scooby Doo #SD #SDMI #Scooby Doo Mystery Incorporated #TOH #The Owl House #Spicynoodles #Spicynoodleshipping #Lionpeach #au #poll

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whattraintracks · 4 months ago

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Grudge Match – vibrating I am so excited for this episode

“collect Michelangelo” idk why but this word choice is sending me

ouch this tension between all of them (Raph getting in Leo's face about his attitude; Mikey avoiding training) is hitting really close to home

portals once again proving to be bad news for turtles

gosh I will never get over how Raph will flip a switch from yelling at a brother to defending him in an instant

Kluh’s like a rematch? nah I just want him dead

actually, Kluh and Ammag make an interesting parallel to Karai and Shredder

Don: Man, it stinks to be you :D

Raph: This is the best day of my life!

guys pleeeeeeeease

Splinter’s pizza with pepperoni and karma, I cannot

his statue!! every time I think about the three generations of Hamato in the pavilion of past champions I get a little teary-eyed

oh, shoot! I did not expect to actually cry about Leo and the Daimyo’s Son!

just just just Leo facing an enemy who tried to kill him specifically and hurt his family multiple times

but instead of dismissing or hating this kid, he is for the first time in a while dorky, unsure, kind Leo again

excuse you, how am I supposed to emotionally recover from this?? 😭😭😭

I sense some foul play in this joint

“we still talking about me here?” astute as always Michelangelo

Mikey's persistent ‘get me out of here!’ is really showcasing how for him the championship was less about being the best and more about wanting attention from his family

which I totally understand

Raph is straight-up stimming he is so excited about Mikey’s fight

you Can Not tell me Ue hasn’t been following Leo around like a duckling

you know I would read the heck out of a fic about Leo and his emotional support child

barbarians! what's a barbarian? non-romans, said the romans, being invaded by non-romans.

okay, yeah, Don and Raph's glee and Mikey's panic make more sense given they fully expect Mikey won’t get too hurt because of the safety spells but Mikey forgot about them

it's unfortunate that uh those spells no longer exist

no!! leave Ue alone!

ooh forgot how good the Battle Nexus music theme is

look at my boy go!!!!

sure enough, they're all immediately freaked when those safety spells didn’t take effect

love how expressive Raph’s body language is, he is all in

fascinated by the three father-son duos at odds with each other here (Ammag and Kluh v Splinter and Mikey v Daimyo and Ue)

HOLY CRAP HE’S SO COOL

HE’S HOLDING ONE NUNCHUCK WITH HIS FOOT!!!!!!!!!!

have I mentioned lately how much I love Mikey and Splinter's match in Big Brawl? because it feels relevant to bring it up now

Splinter passing on their legacy means so much to me and I really love how the Battle Nexus sort of became a Splinter and Mikey thing

and it's really cool to see how the Battle Nexus drives home some of Splinter’s lessons for Mikey

point is Mikey’s “my father taught me better than that” is a perfect way to end the rematch and the various father-son conflicts

those are some flamboyant, glowy costumes and weapons you boys've got on

“I’m gonna have to move out.” Raph's just like me fr. I'm pretty sure I said that exact statement to my mother growing up (probably about doing chores but that’s neither here nor there)

as easy as it would be to take Don and Raph’s whining the wrong way it really was just played for laughs and I'm surprisingly okay with that

I'm still gonna read a bunch of hurt/comfort fics about this but yeah

#s4 e6 grudge match #just realised i can take low quality screenshots #i should not be allowed this power #it totally snuck up on me but mikey is tied with raph for my fav 03 turtle #has been for a while now #just thought y'all should know #tmnt 2003 #tmnt #all aboard the live blog #whattrainofthought

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this-world-of-beautiful-monsters · 10 months ago

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violently smashing my two major fandoms with an F together as a form of procrastination

A question for the ages: WHICH Avatar character matches up with WHICH Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle one and WHY the fuck should anyone (besides me) care? We'll answer at least one of those questions for you tonight, dear viewers!!!!

First up

Neteyam - Leo

Eldest son, blue theme (like I could say this for all the Sullys, but shush), can do no wrong except when one of the siblings stubs a toe and then the Guilt, daddy's favorite solider who's also a huge dork (like we don't see a lot of evidence of this in canon for Neteyam but let me have this), Neteyam's Untimely End vs Leo getting treated as such a punching bag by each TMNT iteration that throwing him through a goddamn window is an established franchise staple by now.

Kiri - Donnie

A case can be made for April-Kiri parallels (particularly for psychic powers re 2012 April, my beloved, and dead mom syndrome) and also Karai-Kiri (for dead mom syndrome, how often I've mixed up their fucking names while writing), but Kiri-Donnie fits the siblings theme, so there. They're tech nerd-nature nerd solidarity, autistic Entities of unparalleled death and destruction, happy to destroy government property, younger siblings pretending to be above the Chaos while very much not, and in desperate need of a nap and a stiff drink.

Lo'ak - Raph

Rage issues. Daddy issues. Big brother issues. Relatively smol and Keenly aware of that fact. Adored by the (smart) fans, cursed by Eywa/God. Makes strong bonds with animal fwends and also collects traumatic experiences like magnets collect nails. 100% either in a fistfight or sobbing into his pillow rn. In a family living at the bottom of a fucking sewer and/or on the run from the government, still manages to feel like an odd one out. Someone needs to introduce Lo'ak to emo music, it would fuck him up so much /pos.

Tuk - Mikey

Youngest and most excitable sibling, heart of gold and jaws of steel. Optimism that remains in the face of innocence slowly being shaved away by Events. Hates being left out or left behind, committed to various Schemes and Plans with historically mixed outcomes. Has definitely either killed a man or will do so as soon as the opportunity presents itself.

Spider - Karai and April

Spider's kind of an unholy amalgamation of April's Token Human We've Shared Traumatic Experiences With journey and Karai's At Odds With Creepy Undead Father Figure And Complex Relationship With Less Creepy Father Figure (see below) arcs. Basically part of my ongoing psyops plans to Feminize That Boy (don't worry Karai-Kiri and April-Kiri parallels, I still love you). Also, Leorai/Apritello and Speteyam/Spiri (mix and match at will) have exciting interspecies and/or vaguely incestous vibes we should all strive for in our weird fanfics.

Jake - Splinter/Hamato Yoshi

Tired dads trying their best and just so happening to raise The Kids as soldiers-warriors along the way. Exciting and confusing relationships with the concept of this thing you call "death." Shameless species hoppers, even though Jake did it on purpose while TMNT writers in various iterations have to come up with increasingly more convoluted ways for it to happen to Yoshi against his will. Is not afraid of violence, especially when it comes to their homoerotically homicidal relationship with

Quaritch - Shredder

Big Bad of the story, or at least the one everybody pays attention to. The Bitch Who Refuses To Die. Unhealthy, possessive, genuinely quite creepy (/pos) obsession with sort-of-kid who ended up in his care through Unfortunate Means. Will destroy everything he remotely cares about and sit in the ashes with surprised Pichaku face before finding someone to blame. Refuses to let go of a fucking grudge, be it with aforementioned homoerotic-homicide buddy or various children.

Neytiri

Technically the best Neytiri parallel in terms of family relationships would be Tang Shen, Splinter's wife and the pseudo/actual (depending on the iteration) mother of his children. However, Tang Shen has an unfortunate history of being Dead Girled and Ghost-Momed in a way that puts her more in common with Grace or Tom Sully (rip). Still, Neytiri has a lot in common with the vengeful demon ghost version of Tang Shen that exists primarily in my head.

BONUS

Payakan - Casey Jones

Outcast from society, defender of the weak, wanted by the authorities. Combines genuinely passionate belief in justice/revenge with an equally genuine talent for wanton violence and destruction. Has an interspecies bromance with Lo'ak/Raph that puts Achilles and Patrocles to shame. Someone definitely needs to introduce Payakan to emo music, too, not to mention death metal--he'd start a band to put those Little Mermaid fuckers to shame.

Questions? Comments? Concerns? Arguments? (you're all wrong btw) Only know me from one of these fandoms and have no idea what the hell I'm taking about? Hit me up in the reblogs!

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