#what can top that a mutant turtle from a mystic city becoming a ninja being bff with a young girl who can talk to dead childern?

[aprosin]

"artist" in the family

alt verison:

[wheretheinkspilt]

LAST ONE LEFT AU

LOL, or Last One Left is a ROTTMNT AU that posits an answer to the “what if” scenario of Hamato Yoshi not being mutated during the first collapse of Baron Draxum's lab, leading to him not taking the children in the process; instead coming back to the human world and continuing his career as a movie star. Meanwhile, the Baron trained the 4 turtles into a group of elite warriors bent on protecting yokai-kind from the menace of the surface.

This AU is a collaborative project between me and @discardedmilkywaywrapper, we are gradually developing it in our own time, and would prefer no questions about it for the time being, unless it's something regarding the current artfight event, over which you can reach me, and I will see if it's something we are willing to disclose. Otherwise we politely ask that you please do not message us about it until we have our information properly organized, we will make it clear when it's so.

Character Info:

April

She thought she was living the dream when she landed a job as a production assistant/coffee intern in the latest Lou Jitsu movie, what she was not expecting was to be thrown into a world full of evil ninja clans, mutants and mystic powers as a side effect. She, completely incidentally, proved herself to her idol by the way she dealt to with being unexpectedly thrown into this world; and the aging Yoshi gave her the offer to become his protegé to learn the ways of his clan. Needless to say she jumped at the chance. Hey, this metal shard that just got stuck on her bat is making this battles with supernatural beings really easy for some reason.

Note: In this universe, given Draxum named the turtles, instead of having their names be inspired on Renassaince painters, their names are inspired of yokai from history.

Raphael; or rather Yonakishi

The tall and quiet leader of the turtles, he speaks in short, precise sentences, he seems to have two modes, icy stoicism or searing rage.

So you see, given he has a baby face and is a sweetheart, the Baron gave him a mask that totally reshaped his face, and trained him to keep quiet in public. Despite outwardly looking so straightlace, Yona has been questioning the teachings of his father lately; he wants to be a hero and do the right thing, but is the destruction of humanity really a noble goal? Doesn't help he is slowly growing to admire that Lou Jitsu and his aprentice with their bold and unorthodox fighting styles.

Leo, or rather Mononoke

The face of the team, Mono does most of the talking for the turtles, from bartering to intimidation, he handles himself like a teathrical villain, building up on his father's presentation, but with more ✨️ PIZZAZ! ✨️

Mono believes being the best mystic warrior of the city is an amazing gig, a position his younger brother hasn't contestes due to having more fun not hamming it up; famous in the underworld, a cool vigilante on the surface, he takes it all in stride. Despite his cocky attitude and self appointed “loose canon” status, being raised by the Baron made him feel like he is always competing for a “The Best” title, and his brothers are all great contenders, so he has to stay on top of his game as the team's strategic mastermind to get that title. Completely unaware he is already slipping.

Further Notes:

Donnie and Mikey are named Zorigami (Zori, or Zee) and Okami (O.K.) respectively.

April only uses her vigilante costume in missions, and just uses her canon clothes in regular day to day life.

I do have a Lou Jitsu design, but given his appearance changes are very minor, I did not make a character ref for him (I didn't originally intended to upload the AU to artfight xP).

[tmntallthewaydown]

Tales of the Hidden City Writing Appreciation Post Pt.1!

The last batch of episodes, Tales of the Hidden City, were excellent. As an animator, it’s easy to get bowled over by the visuals of the show and just rant about those, but I wanted to spotlight another awesome part of Rise of TMNT -- the writing!

The writing is always fun in the show, but there were parts of these episodes that I really wanted to call out for how clever and great they are.

Each of the Tales of the Hidden City eps puts the characters in a situation where their strengths are negated or challenged. (Also, big cheer for a bunch of episodes finally exploring the Hidden City. It’s such a fun location, I want to see it all.)

Donnie Vs Witch Town  an episode where Donnie’s tech can’t solve the problem Raph’s Ride Along  an episode where Raph’s heroics are seen as anything but Hidden City’s Most Wanted  an episode where Mikey’s peacekeeping can’t keep the peace Bad Hair Day  an episode where the face man’s face ain’t enough

I figured I’d do a separate post for each episode so it doesn’t get over-long. 

I’ll be focusing on character development mainly since that’s what stood out to me most!

Donnie Vs Witch Town

Directed by Abe Audish, Written by Ian Busch, Storyboarded by Alicia Chan

*Spoilers for the episode!* I won’t do full recaps, and assume you’ve all seen the ep if you’re reading this..

We start with Donnie referencing the Shadow Fiend in the Battle Nexus. 

“Rumour has it, this Shadow Fiend is quite the fierce champion”

I’m assuming this line’s here because the writers want to keep dropping us tantalizing crumbs to set up the Shadow Fiend as being an important figure in this season. The writers want to keep them present and in our minds as well as let us know that whoever the fiend is, (I bet we all have guesses), they’ve gotta be making quite the name for themselves if even the Turtles have heard of them.

April says she’s headed to Witch Town, whereupon Donnie is horrified. I think horrified is the right word.

“Drop it, D.” “Why not ask me? Mr Science!”

The “Drop it, D” is an elegant way to imply this conversation is a continuation of one they were having pre-episode. April is already very done with the discussion.

Donnie’s line is great because it’s one of two times in this episode that he calls himself ‘Mr Science’ or ‘The Science Guy’. Here, the line comes off as triumphant and proud, but later there is a feeling of desperation to it. It’s a really nice parallel to set up at the beginning, so we can hammer home the duality of what that label means to Donnie.

To preface, this episode deals with Don’s self worth being tangled up in his ability to do Science good. Because of this, he does a lot of projecting in this episode. For the most part, you can assume any time he mentions ‘Science’, he is actually talking about himself. Basically, substitute that word for his own name, and it makes the subtext more obvious.

Here, have these just because they’re fun.

Don ‘helping out’ with various Science Fair projects. April has a good reason not to ask him for help again.

A nuclear powered cooking multi-tool?

The Erupting Volcano. The floor is literally lava.

The Classic Potato Battery experiment.

“Hmm. That must have been the work of another Teenage Mutant Ninja Dummie.”

I’m calling out Donnie’s response here just because I enjoy the consistency the writers give to the way he handles failures. Innnnn that he will feign complete ignorance of the incident and claim it must have been someone else entirely.

--

“You turned a cuddly animatronic bear into a psychotic robot bent on destroying us? No? Got April Fired? Mmm? Nothing? Mmm?” “That does not sound like me, no.”

- from Al Be Back

--

In general it’s an established part of his character that he has problems accepting failure.

Donnie deflects blame in many other episodes - to April in ‘The Purple Jacket’ and to his brothers in ‘Todd Scouts’ off the top of my head. This trait is pertinent to this episode in particular because the apology we get at the end of the episode from him is by far the most full and cohesive admission of blame he has given in the two series so far. I’d say it’s a step forward on the level of Leo’s apology from the ‘Air Turtle’ episode (another great episode showing Leo’s growth towards becoming a team player!). 

Either way, it’s nice that we see him redirect the blame early in the episode so the moment can provide more of a contrast to him coming full circle and accepting the blame later.

One last thing about the line - I put my hands up to admit that this may be me overthinking it, but Don essentially calls himself a dummie here. Whether this was intentional by the writers to hint at his insecurities or just a fun line, I couldn’t say - but since it relates back to events later in the episode I thought it might be worth mentioning.

Moving on, Donnie accompanies April to Witch Town despite it being the last place he wants to be. It’s our first hint that his obsessive need to convince April that all Mystic stuff is garbage might run a bit deeper than just vocal teasing. 

April calls him out on being closed minded and we get

“Oh I’m sorry, I was just stewing over how everyone needs to be more like me.”

Of course we know that’s not how he really feels, as we’ve all seen that episode.

The writing here is nice and subtle. It lets us know that Donnie isn’t being honest. He’s giving April sass, but the sentiment he’s expressing is false.

The episode continues with Donnie comparing every feat of magic to it’s scientific equivalent until April essentially tells him to can it if he doesn’t want a bat to the plastron. The witches show off, prompting exclamations from April at how amazing their magic is.

Then we get one of my favourite lines from Donnie as he snaps.

“Your Mystic Magic is not amazing, it’s simple and soft. There, I said it.”

That soft is a word that Donnie would use as an insult, associating it with something he dislikes and looks down on, is very affecting. You know what else is soft?

The writing here is so revealing and wonderful. They could have used any insult, but the writers chose to have him express his frustration in a way that sheds light on the way Donnie sees himself. It gets right to the root of the problem he has in this episode, which is that without his science and tech, Donnie doesn’t feel like he is particularly ‘Amazing’ either.

That April calling magic amazing is what prompt’s Don’s snap, rather than any of the words of the townsfolk, is one of the clues we’re given to the truth behind D’s drive in this episode. The writers will bring that back later on!

So April and Don are kicked outta Witch Town when Don’s improv musical performance to convince April to let him help her instead ends up blowing up in his face.

Popping this here because watching Donnie get deservedly smacked by April at this point was very cathartic for me. Dingus.

Donnie offers to help the witches in return for them helping April. It seems sweet at first, but it becomes plain fairly fast that this is really another opportunity for D to try and prove that science is king.

“Ah would you look at that. Banished, and I still saved the day.” “Wait, is that why you did this?” “Nooo! It’s because I was sorry - about being closed minded - about how wrong I were.”

Again, it’s up to the writers to show us that Donnie is lying about his motivations here. That little bit of incorrect grammar (saying ‘were’ instead of ‘was’), calls out to us that something is up. Donnie is smart, and it’s out of character for him to word things sloppily. It lets us know that all is not well, and that things are yet to be resolved, internally at least.

I couldn’t help calling out this wonderful posing, even though I’m trying to focus on the writing. It really sells us on the dissatisfaction brewing between them. Gorgeous acting from the animators.

The peace offering potion the witches were making seems to work, and Donnie wastes no time in trying to rub their faces in the fact that science provided one of the ingredients - until it becomes clear that Donnie’s contribution has soured the brew. He tries to avoid blame and responsibility, as we’ve seen him do in previous episodes (and earlier in this one). Nothing I’m calling out here besides the novelty of seeing a mob of witches trying to lynch a scientist - a bit of a historical reversal!

The big bad is storming Witch Town and Donnie gets ready to smack down - specifically “because when I defeat it with my tech, they will have to admit science is better!”

It’s worth saying that on the word ‘they’, he points directly at April. Because as we’re about to discover, it’s not actually proving to these random villagers that Science is best that’s important to him (though maybe that would be nice), but about proving to April specifically that Science is best. Thank you animators/storyboarders for making that subtext more explicit!

At this point we as the audience have had it up to here with Donnie’s bullheadedness. The reveal that D’s gripe is personal and April/brother specific, rather than just a frustration with Witch Town in general, goes some way to explaining why he is so obsessive over it.

Donnie’s Tech Bo breaks in the conflict, and we get the awesome reveal of April’s Mystic Bat. She is of course, badass with it and kicks butt. April saving Donnie’s hide with Mystic Magic prompts the confrontation between them that is the emotional heart of the episode.

“Why are you so obsessed with proving me wrong on this!?” “Because! I’m the Science Guy! (sigh) If Mystic Powers can do everything I can do but better, then why would you guys even need me?”

Here is the payoff to the opening ‘Mr Science’ line from earlier in the episode. The wording is similar, however this time the line is tinged with defeat. The duality revealed is that Science makes Don feel powerful, but without it, he feels powerless.

The visuals that go hand in hand with the dialog are very telling here, too.

The image of Donnie holding his broken Tech Bo isn’t just to show us that his technology isn’t enough to win, that it can be broken. It’s also showing us how he sees himself, drawing a direct comparison between Donnie and his broken Tech. He’s not always perfect, but he’s ultimately useful, right? Until he’s not. I’ve no doubt that this was a deliberate move from the Storyboarders, and I think they sold the moment brilliantly.

His words make it clear that Donnie believes that “if Mystic Powers can do everything I can do but better”, ie, help April with her project without blowing her classroom up, why would she not keep going to Mystics instead of him in the future? 

With her not ‘needing’ him for scientific assistance any more, he sees no reason for her to continue hanging out with him. This ties back to the clues the writers dropped earlier in the episode, that suggest he doesn’t regard himself highly without his science. 

The obsession this episode with disproving how ‘Amazing’ Mystic Magic is in front of April makes a lot more sense through the lens that he is fighting to keep April’s friendship.

“You Guys” expands this sentiment to include the rest of his family. If his tech ends up letting down the team and is unneeded then by extension, he would also be unneeded.

As viewers, we know this is untrue. Even beyond the fact that these characters rely on one another emotionally, we saw Don fight alongside his brothers in ‘Insane in the Mama Train’ - all of them tech-less and Mystic-less - and they kicked butt, even if they did end up being eventually captured. However, it’s clear from the writing here that this isn’t how Donatello himself feels.

“You’re not important to me because of your tech, you’re important to me because of you! I don’t think Mystic Powers is better than Science. If anything, they’re stronger together, just like us! Right?” “Right!”

April’s comeback is wonderful. Super eloquently written and gets right to the heart of his insecurities. First undermining the thought that if Don didn’t have tech, she wouldn’t need him, then framing Mystic Powers as something that will bring them closer together. Beautiful writing! 

I also want to just celebrate how the writers handle April’s characterisation as being someone who is super excited and curious about any kind of Mystic Magic or supernatural shenanigans. I really like this consistency in her character where she is way into anything otherworldly or unexplained. I hope we get to see more of it in the future!

We get to see April and Donnie kick butt together which super fun! I’m very happy we got another episode with these two, the way they bounce off one another is really enjoyable to watch.

“I was wrong to not be more open-minded. It’s just that Mystic Powers are the one thing I have not been able to solve. As a man of Science, it is maddening to finally come upon something that you do not understand. Especially when your dum-dum brothers totally do, and they wave their dum-dum weapons in their dum-dum hands all the dum-dum time! But that is just a long way of saying I am sorry’.

The apology is very articulate, letting us know that D is truthful here. It’s a nice little payoff when compared to his earlier lie with April, where the writers had him fudge his words to imply his dishonesty. 

April actually believes him this time too, judging by the lovely acting here. 

 We’re treated to this perspective on Donnie’s feelings, which reveals a couple of interesting things to us. ‘The one thing I have not been able to solve’ indicates that he has previously attempted - and failed - to understand Mystic stuff, which is new information. It goes against our impressions from the rest of the series so far (that he is simply disinterested). We also learn that his brothers’ understanding of their powers has created a knowledge imbalance that is a frustration to him. I very much hope that the show keeps taking steps in this direction with Donnie, just because I would love to see an arc that results in him getting more involved with the Mystic side of things.

To wrap up the episode, I really appreciated the way the writers handled the internal conflict in Donnie Vs Witch Town. There was a lot of subtlety and subtext in the writing, which I am absolutely here for. Donnie’s end reveal really recontextualizes the earlier shenanigans in a meaningful way, and marks a step forward for him. April has her Bat now, and Don is a little more open to Mystic Powers as a possibility! I’m excited to see where we go next! 

Thanks for sticking with me, if you got to the end, and I hope you found it as interesting as I did! ‘Raph’s Ride along’ is the next ep I’ll dig into.

[keysszz]

Tales of the Hidden City: Part One

I don’t usually do this but...

I need to talk about these new episodes. There's so much going on in them and I need to break them down. Starting with:

Donnie v.s. Witchtown

At the beginning of the episode, Donnie wants to go the Battle Nexus.

He says that he wants to go and see the Shadow Fiend since its 'quite the fierce champion,' which leads us to believe that this will be brought up more in the season.

If the turtles even know about this beast, than the Shadow Fiend is going to be a pretty hard competitor to fight (and we all know they're going to have to meet and fight at some point).

April tells him that she wants to go to WitchTown, and Donnie is straight out offended (or is it appalled?).

He says that he should be the one to help her with the project, which leads to believe that they've had this conversation before (that, and because April seems done with the whole ordeal).

Donnie calls himself 'Mr. Science', and he does this another time in the episode. When he says 'Mr. Science', he does it in excitement (he even sings it to give a full effect). But later in the episode, it's clear that he was doing this for a cover up.

Hm, that must have been the work of another Teenage Mutant Ninja Donnie.

Though that might have just been a funny line that the writers chose to include, Donnie has put the blame on others in the past. He's done it in multiple episodes; Al be Back, Todd Scouts, (I know there's more but I don’t remember what they are 💀) and he so quick to doing it.

He goes along with April despite his hatred again Mystic Magic, wanting to prove a point to her.

Let it go?! Does she even know me?!

Donnie's lines states that its hard for him to just "let something go". Throughout the episode we can see this, and he gets more and more angry whenever the Witches' magic is proclaimed ‘amazing’.

Ok, this line probably had nothing to do with anything, but it took me out.

You know the feeling of ‘fun’ is a chemical reaction in the brain. So mystic fun will always be science fun. Ha ha, zing!

His little zing was just amazing.

When Donnie finally does snap, he goes and says that the magic is simple and soft.

This isn't just a normal insult. At first when hearing this, I just thought it was something he said at the top of his head. But then I realized...

He's a soft shell.

He didn't just say this out of thin air, he's comparing the magic to himself (plus the way he delivered the line also shows this). Without his tech, he feels as if he isn't anything; and like his shell, he's soft.

The writing here is amazing. They could have chosen anything for him to say, but they chose for him to say something that relates to himself. That without his tech and his science, he's not 'amazing', he's nothing to them.

They get kicked out of Witchtown because of Donnie wanting to show off, and he makes a deal to Gentry to help the witches if she helps April with her project.

This seems sincere at first, but again, its just another cover up.

Also when April wacked him with her bat, he totally deserved that.

When the worms are added to the potion after Donnie has speed aged them, he doesn't hesitate to say that science was the one to make it possible.

Ha, would you look at that? Banished and I still saved the day.

Wait, is that why you did this?

No! It was to say I was sorry - about being so closed minded - about how wrong I were.

So clearly he wasn't sorry enough to make a full apology.

When the potion turns out to be a fail, April and Donnie have to find a way to save the city.

Donnie says that they have to save it to prove a point that 'science is better'. At this point, Donnie is just getting annoying. The fact that he has to declare that science is better every second is insane, but there's a reason for this.

Donnie tries to go and fight the beast by himself, but it doesn’t end well. He knocks into April and this is when April’s bat is mystic-afied (is that a word? Idk).

Can we just talk about April’s bat for a second? The potential it has is awesome, if it can knock out and defeat something that is three times their size, what else can it do?

Donnie denies that April’s weapon is amazing, and this is the point where we see his true feelings.

Because, I’m the Science Guy! (sigh) If mystic powers can do everything I can do but better, than why would you guys even need me?

He feels as if he isn’t needed without his tech. He thinks that his tech is the only reason he is on the team, and the only reason that everyone seems to want him. Without his tech, he thinks he won’t be needed by anyone anymore, and that he will just become useless.

You aren’t important to me because of your tech, you’re important to me because of you! I don't think mystic powers are better than science, if anything, they’re stronger together. Just like us, right?

Right!

Their friendship is amazing.

The two of them defeat the beast, and this is when we finally hear a true apology from Donnie.

I was wrong to not be more opened minded, it’s just that mystic powers are the one thing I cannot solve. As a man of science, it is maddening to come across something that you finally do not understand. Especially when you’re dumb dumb brothers totally do, and then they wave their dumb dumb weapons in their dumb dumb hands all the dumb dumb time!

Sure, the ending of the apology is a bit funny, but it’s Donnie’s way of saying that he is truly sorry. 

Even April is convinced by his apology.

And then they get thrown into prison...

What a great way to end the episode😭

All in all, this was a really good episode. Though most of the Donnie episodes have him learning a lesson, and this can get boring if the show just keeps doing this with his character.

But it was a pretty heartfelt moment, and I enjoyed it.