#tmnt but hijabi? | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

deadlyflan · 2 years ago

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Friend @dandalionbold drew my OCs!

I'm over the moon with gratitude and delight. I've not posted the fanfic where I introduce them, but I've been working in drafts and sharing with dandalionbold. She surprised me with art based on my various Picrew mock-ups of my four turtle girls. I could not be happier!

picrew mock-ups on which she based her art:

Overview

Dinah, Helen, Nina, & Julie: four survivors out of an original control group of 10 'sister' turtles in the basement of TGRI. They grew up as laboratory animals and know the world through educational videos and textbooks, weight-height checks and file folders full of charts.

These turtle girls wore smocks and scrub pants out in the lab, but were expected to turn the clothes back in and submit to contraband check before returning to their room. Faced with a floor to ceiling observation window, the girls' only privacy came from hiding under their blankets.

Once they escape the lab, all of them seek comfort in as much clothing and coverings as possible. In the fullness of time, some of them will relax and treat clothes as functional or fashion choices, but fresh from the lab, cloth is armor against being watched.

Note on colors and hijab

Since I have used various Picrews for my mock-ups, I didn't always get consistent colors or features for my turtle girls. I don't intend for these girls to be specifically color-coded. Nor do i mean to imply that they are traditional or religious hijabis. They do wear loads of layers, scarves, shawls, hoods-up hoodies, headscarves, and hats out of anxiety, but typically the only picrew options for full-body cover are headscarves and hijab. I mean no disrespect in using those options.

Individual bios

Dinah is sickly. In my story, she goes through some intense medical trauma to escape the lab. The effects of that will linger the rest of her life, but she's still very much a people-pleaser. In her mind, there are right answers to everything and she's determined to prove she can be a good girl and get it all correct. At first, too many open-ended questions or ambiguous answers push her to meltdowns. Over time, the TMNT family demonstrates that there are no punishments for 'wrong' answers and Dinah will be more able to handle uncertainty.

Helen is protective. The world is very much divided into "us" versus "them" for Helen. It's her and her sisters against the world. In the lab that was true, and her methods of lying, sneaking, and hoarding food for her sisters helped them all. Outside of the lab, she's going to have a hard time adjusting to a family that is on her side. Her new family frowns on lying, catches her sneaking, and doesn't want her stashing food in weird places. Unsure who the clear enemy is and unbalanced without an obvious threat, Helen will need lots of help feeling safe.

Nina is shy. She's witty and loves nature magazines, but you wouldn't know that to meet her. Only Nina's sisters get to hear her talk in a voice above a whisper. An illness caused her a slight lower leg deformity--nothing drastic, she can still walk--but she's very aware of her limp. She has nightmares about being too slow and about being culled from her group. Nina distrusts new people, but once the guys figure out she likes animal documentaries, they will have a quietly enthusiastic companion slip in and watch from beside the sofa.

Julie is mourning. The girls had 6 other sisters growing up with them. It was crowded and it was loud, but one of those girls was Julie's twin. Julie hasn't spoken out loud since sickness separated them all. At least she, Dinah, Helen, and Nina were reunited--even if Nina came back hurt. Now Julie clings to the sisters she has left. She cries a lot, but she keeps it quiet. She gets bad scores in testing, but nobody seems to expect more. Julie lives for 'lights out' when her sisters will crowd close under the blanket and she can pretend everyone came back.

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