#tmnt 2003 showed me how mikey is unloved and underestimated and expected to play up the clown

[brightlotusmoon]

Oi, TMNT fandom, who wants to help me come up with a comprehensive list of each time 2003 Mikey saved the day or made a very powerful observation but in a sort of background way while being teased.

For example: flying the Triceraton ship, distracting the Triceratons, rescuing Donnie, applying stealth, while the others make fun of him.

Speaking his thoughts out loud which makes The Ancient One smack him on the head, even though he made a good point.

Obviously, the Leo Speech doesn't really count, because they're paying attention and taking him seriously.

I always felt like some the show writers didn't like him much, to make him such an insensitive, arrogant version of Mikey. Mirage Mikey had a lot more nuturing in him. Don't mind me, I'm insomniac and cranky.

And fuck how I wish we could've gotten the original script for the Good Genes arc. There always was more darkness in Michelangelo.

[brightlotusmoon]

Someone just sent this to me because they thought I had written it. I wish I had.

Michelangelo is super under appreciated and here’s why (tmnt comic spoilers ahead)

It drives me nuts when people boil Mikey down to “the dumb one” or “the silly one” (I’m looking at you 2012) because he is not just a one-dimensional character. He has many layers.

Mikey is such an important part of the team because of his compassion and empathy. He has a deep emotional connection with his loved ones, and seeks to connect even with their foes in hoping to stop the fighting. I would go as far to say he is more emotionally intelligent than his brothers, and every decision he makes is guided by his heart, which is a driving point of his character.

Here’s a few examples of things he’s done that reflect this point:

Becomes friends with Woody, who works at a pizza place and is able to bring them pizzas

Trying to defuse the fight with Slash when the turtles first met him, and later when he finds out Slash is part of the mutanimals gives him candy and befriends him.

Leaves Splinter when he decides to lead the foot clan because Mikey knows it will only lead to more violence. His brothers try to convince him to come back, but after Splinter tells Jenny to kill someone they realize Mikey was right and leave Splinter as well.

Holding a Christmas party to raise the spirits of his brothers after they left Splinter

Becoming friends with all of the mutanimals, even though he disagrees with Hob and the things he does

And that’s only a couple examples. The point is that Michelangelo deserves more appreciation. It probably saddens him that he isn’t able to live normally among humans, but it never stops him from making a friend around every corner.

Which is why every time I think of Mikey I always think of the quote “He wishes only to love…and to be loved.” And honestly? He deserves to.

[brightlotusmoon]

Oh, fuck, I just saw a YouTube review of the sibling dynamics between Leonardo and Michelangelo and I am completely agreeing that Mikey sees Leo as a protective mom who he can learn from and Leo sees Mikey as a problem child he is responsible for, so The Brightest Fire or The Sunshine Child will have to have scenes like that. Besides Splinter never really connected to Mikey and after a while in 2003 he gave up and enjoyed Mikey getting a beatdown while Leo was the only one who believed in Mike's potential. I have Issues with Splinter and his psychology around the youngest.

(The Sunshine Child series focused on Leo being all Nobody Hurts My Problem Child Not Even My Dead Father Also Fuck You Dad and I think I need to continue it.)

Because while I loathed how 2003 Mikey was written to be a wild insufferable brat, I adored how he was given moments of powerful intense insight and depth and spiritual talent.

I'm cool with Asks for stuff to write in any of the AUs, even CFR. But if i can just get the next two chapters of Brightest Fire out and up I will feel better.

Also maybe 2018 Leo being more laid back will help once we start seeing actual evidence.

[brightlotusmoon]

OMG happy early birthday to this post awww

TMNT 2003 Mikey headcanon #3

Michelangelo was mutated with rudimentary ESP, first displaying telepathy and telekinesis as a child. Splinter assumed only he and the Ancient One knew. But young Leonardo figured it out with his own hard-earned spiritual senses. Jealousy and envy over the years turned into fierce ferocious protective feelings to a point where Leo forgot their origins. Each time he pushed his baby brother to be great he felt a rippling twinge of power flow between them but he didn’t question it. Leo had no idea that Splinter and the Ancient One had forced young Mikey to bury his power and stunt his own psychic growth for safety. But Leo suspected that Mikey needed encouragement beyond the usual so he never gave up. Mike emotionally clung to him as a result, seeking comfort and protection even if he didn’t know why.