#merging 1987 and 2007 mikey into therapy mikey

[brightlotusmoon]

'87 and mm mikey eating empanadas while talking about their fave shows

THIS SCENARIO IS SO SILLY I LOVE IT <3

very very mini comic ?.? hsjdnfk-

[brightlotusmoon]

Where are the 2007 Mikey fans? I'm working on a fic. It's angsty and bloody and fluffy and full of the whole family apologizing to each other and reflecting on Splinter's canon death. and I want to ask people questions, because every fan has different thoughts that somehow run into each other because we're Mikey fans.

(Splinter would have been dead by that sequel that never happened)

[brightlotusmoon]

Thirty year old headcanon no matter what any canon tries to tell us: Mikey enjoys science experiments, is delighted when Donnie asks for his help, and often experiments with his art, media, and culture interests using the scientific method. Although it is in fact canon in various incarnations, the fandom has always had this annoying habit of claiming that Mikey is too dumb. Stop that, fandom.

[brightlotusmoon]

Wait, IDW turned Mikey into a literal projective empath who can control other people's emotions and communicate with animal minds.

That's my headcanon from the early 1990s, spurred on by 1987 Mikey's telepathic friendship with the parrots and cats and his friendship with the veterinarian we never saw again, and his obvious skills reading other people.

I started using the Empath Mikey tag on Tumblr in 2016, after I met @catbowserauthor when she was writing as ThickerThanLove and UlisaBarbic for 1987 and 2003 Michelangelo, who she gave actual ESP and intense empathy.

*claps hands* *slams table* Empath Mikey is canon! EMPATH MIKEY IS CANON.

[brightlotusmoon]

Oh, shit, this was only a year ago? Feels longer.

Tagging @annaliaandtheturtles @remmushound @wat-you-get-is-wat-you-see

A friend is working on a Multiverse Mikey AU where each Mikey develops psionic powers. This one is 2007.

"2007 is the worst insomniac ever because his newfound powers make him have horrible nightmares

He got PTSD from seeing so many future possibilities

So he secretly medicates himself without his brothers' knowledge

But he is so happy and relaxed that it made him act kind of feminine

And nobody suspects a thing LOL"

Also he's a lot more focused depending on the strain. Explains why he only makes witty jokes in the movie.

And he is actually very observant there, helping his brothers lie to Splinter and helping the research!

Of course I'm not gonna make Mikey able to hide it for long

His brothers will eventually find out and then they'll go on an outburst at him as overprotective brothers

I love those things in hurt/comfort Mikey-centric fics 😍😍"

[brightlotusmoon]

Happy Anniversary to the 87 TMNT! They're 35 today.

[brightlotusmoon]

Watch "Mikey's Family Role | A Rise of the TMNT Analysis" on YouTube

[brightlotusmoon]

You know...

I'm agreeing with a lot of "all the 2007 Turtles probably had ADHD frankly" headcanons. 2003 Donnie got headcanoned "Asperger's" until I got on Tumblr and yelled "it's all autism, okay, and it implies eugenics so you can't keep it"

-and Mikey is Creative Theater Kid ADHD Autistic who hyperfixates on food and superhero pop culture and social science, you can't change my mind - also hey Leonardo is Introspective Strategic Motherly Brotherly Autistic who fucking loves history and battle strategy - and people ran with it, I'm thrilled.

[brightlotusmoon]

And that is why I have loved it since 1988, it's been my sense of humor all my life. 1987 walked so 2018 could run.

"fifty million beavers" (the captions missed the line rip)

I love Raph, he delivers every line like he's serious while saying insane shit

and Donnie doesn't question it

[brightlotusmoon]

Watch "TMNT 1987 But the context is in the sewers" on YouTube

[brightlotusmoon]

(Rise/2012/2003 crossover WITH 1987) Oddly enough, 87 Michelangelo is the only Mikey he DOESN'T pick up (he voluntarily joins in thou) (I love the 87 dynamics)

Awwwww, I can see that, in fact. 87 Mikey was unique.

Now, my initial concept for this particular crossover was built off the "Raph needs to stop being angry at Mikey" set of headcanons that over the years has been argued and debated so intensely that it's divided fans like whoa. It also left Only Children Adults, like me, really puzzled about sibling dynamics. My views have shifted since then, but I'm happy to do AU forever because the point of an AU is to ask What If?, for example, what if Raph did hit Mike with the lead pipe, etc.

I always had this 87 headcanon of "what if Mike had kept in touch with Dr Goodfellow and developed his clairvoyance" for example. He's always been pretty independent, especially going into Archie.

[brightlotusmoon]

Wait, since when did the show so Mikey as having psychic powers? Was it just the 87 series or did it happen elsewhere?

He had a couple of clairvoyant dreams, communicated with animals, had on the spot intuition Spidey Sense. In 2012 his empathic insight was slightly terrifying and his family rarely ever believed him.

Then we have Rise Mikey, who actively used telepathy twice, with Todd and with Bullhop, surprising himself. Sure, they may have been cute throwaway gags but they were really really deliberate, which makes me jokingly think someone on the crew knows my old school Empath Mikey headcanons.

[brightlotusmoon]

Getting into TMNT via Rise and falling in love with 87 is actually perfect.

The fans who hated Rise complained it was too goofy and out there while completely overlooking the original goofy out there turtles. Which mostly existed to sell toys based on the violent Not For Kids original comic. Which then created Turtlemania. Which kept the spirit in Rise. Which circles back to "why are you booing me, I'm right" levels of interconnection.

TMNT ask game 1, what is your favourite iteration/version?

my favorite iteration is 87! honestly a large part is that i love the theme song; it makes me smile every time. i think the turtle designs are really cute. i love the voice acting. and the ridiculous mad science is my favorite. i love when donatello (or krang) says words that definitely have real-world meanings but absolutely not in this context, and there are blinking lights and laser beams and pipes with steam coming out of them. i love unabashed nonsense. i also relate to leonardo; i was that bossy teenager trying to get everyone to do the right thing, with mixed results. it warms my heart that he's sometimes inspiring, sometimes overbearing, and the other turtles all love him dearly.

i guess i love unabashed nonsense along with genuine, openhearted caring.

i got into tmnt via rise, and i still enjoy it immensely. but i fell totally in love with the 87s.

[brightlotusmoon]

I always figured the reason the 87 Turtles never got injured was because their show ran on Toon Physics.

100 percent Toon Physics. Everything is bouncy, explosions mean nothing, tis but a flesh wound even when your arm's off. Then it's back on in the next frame anyway because that show became both infamous and famous for animation errors and continuity errors. Yes, the writers were on drugs.

See, that whole "spoof of the bloody hero who patches himself up on the couch and jumps back out the window" trope was still in play but dialed down for children. You couldn't show certain things, of course, you had to use a Looney Tunes filter.

Of course, then the Red Sky Seasons happened and they decided to go a little harder, especially since we the audience had grown up a little.

[brightlotusmoon]

Anyway, a recent conversation brought up one of my favorite headcanons from the last twenty years: the turtles trying on human cultures and rules as if they are trying on clothes.

Which extends to really any humanoid characters with nonhuman instincts.

My personal idea of the Ninja Turtles is that they're animals with human psychology, rather than adolescent humans in animal bodies (although that's literally the idea behind the IDW Turtles, with reincarnation). And the best thing about that in fanfic is to take it to extremes or to mix it up.

Why should they live with or by human morals that are subjective? Or, would they follow those moral codes with a nearly cultish zeal because it's strange to them?

In my 2012 AU I wrote how each turtle was fascinated by aspects of humanity that are seen as marginalized. Mikey loves wearing silk and dresses and genders, for example. In my Bayverse AU, they're all kind of obsessed with why humans want to hurt each other over trivial things. In my 2003 AU, they're more integrated in society which makes them even more cynical if not more specifically fascinated. They are often split, too. Mikey and Donnie seem more connected to human culture through art and science. In Mirage, Leo eventually after a century becomes a bodhisattva, for example.

In Mirage, Mikey becomes a published author under a pen name. In fact, that was basically his main arc, how he just wanted to make art for people. Splinter's talk with him in "The Path" was both a backhanded compliment and a prediction, for how he walked the furthest from Splinter's path yet could certainly teach an old master. (And then his cat died.)

The idea is trying out human traits and behavior to see what fits, which is also why they don't have to be fixed. Mikey can be a deep thinker for example.

Also, Mirage Splinter sought to achieve nirvana beyond animal or human and the Rat King slapped him down hard in the City At War arc. That was an incredible dialogue.

I feel like Splinter's desires absolutely influenced the boys in their own ways, bad and good. Mikey wants to be accepted because he shines so brightly, but why not as himself? Must he become a different entity to truly feel love? (Spoiler: No. But that's the point.)

[brightlotusmoon]

Everyone remember to do your best when you sleep, sleep is vital, it's healing!

Important