#I have plans for emd!mikey

[teaableu]

Hrmmm art style

Last four are post season 1 for the family bonding arc

- “I am not your brother”

- “I diagnose you with emo” (/j)

- “I diagnose you with emo” (/j)

- “I diagnose you with emo” (/j)

- “One. I fear I have been disarmed”

[tangledinink]

how did you go about designing gemini mikey venus and jennika's masks? they look so cool!

Oh gosh what a fun question. I'm about to babble a bunch so I'll put it below a cut 'cause it's long, sorry...

The main motivation for giving Mikey a mask in the first place was I wanted him to have some design element that called back to the horns on Draxum's helmet, (kinda like how @evenmoreofadisaster's Two does) to represent how Mikey looks up to him and emphasize the importance of their relationship. I didn't wanna just do the same thing as EMD, though, of course, and that same design element wouldn't work for Mikey the way it does for Two, anyway. So then the question was-- how do I give this guy horns?

I ended up landing on "oh, I can give him a mask!" I referenced a bunch of different japanese oni masks for the design-- it specifically has 'X's' for eyes to reference his canon kneepads. :3c I hadn't planned to include Venus and Jennika when I designed Mikey, and ended up adding them in a bit later, but it always kinda seemed obvious that they should have masks, too...

I wanted Venus's mask to appear a bit calmer and softer, to kind of reflect her personality, and while I considered giving her the classic "mask tail braid," I also wanted to give her a bow (since all the Hamato Kids have one somewhere!) and keep her 'different,' so I ended up deviating slightly and giving her braids coming from the mask's 'mouth,' instead, to represent smoke, steam, or clouds, which is a somewhat common motif I saw when looking at reference materials for her.

For Jennika, I knew I wanted to give her a big ol' bow, and after a bit of experimenting I decided the best way to do this was to put the mask on the back of her head-- which I also found meant I had the chance to add the fun little design element of giving her 'horns' that sort of appear to be her own by poking out over the top of her head. She's a bit of a spit-fire, so she has sort of 'devilish' little horns to represent this. Her mask being on the back of her head instead of the front like her siblings is also sort of a reference to how she feels a bit less connected to their 'mission' than them, or at least, feels the devotion differently than they do. Venus and Mikey's masks, the visual representation of their relationship with Draxum and their 'divine mission,' is right in the forefront, covering half their faces. Though Jennika still wears a mask, her face is bare-- her mask is behind her, rather than being the very first thing you see.

[evenmoreofadisaster]

The recent chapter was amazing one v two was so good, ugh and the ending 😂, wondering through, I know you mentioned how complicated their relationship is, but does two feel anything about doing that to one? Or is somewhat numbed to it all? Like it’s necessary ect, if that made sense… love the art and fic so much 🤗

I am so glad you asked. I'm going to take so long to get to the point.

Spoilers for EMD smart lair:

When Two first threatens One with shutting off his EPCVI he's furious and desperate because from where he stands, if he doesn't do something drastic, both their lives are over: "'Nothing I do is without a reason! Nothing!'" / “'They are our last chance to finally fix Alpha 9! Without them we are nothing!'”

Throughout season one, no matter what Two says or does One never listens to him and always sticks to his own agenda. This is a magnification of how in Rise (especially the movie) Leo tends to focus on only doing things his way and not wanting/needing any or much help. On top of that, Somni and I were just talking about how a lot of One and Two's fights are about power plays against each other. We've talked a bit about the complications in their relationship stemming from the power imbalance and lack of respect between them (mostly for Two). So their fights are a bit repetitive since it all comes back to the same problem, manifested and brought to the surface by One's agenda, but the stakes are raised each time until the breaking point in Smart Lair when One acts on his plans.

So making that first threat in SL was a trump card for Two and absolutely a last resort. We joke that Two could get revenge by turning One's heart off whenever he gets even slightly ticked off but really, jokes aside, it's important to keep in mind that deactivating One is the worst case scenario if One is really out of control. Two doesn't really gain anything by shutting One off except for maybe more spotlight for himself (but given his and Draxum's relationship that's a very small opportunity for Two, and we see in Smart Lair that Two gets in trouble for threatening to use the protocol without permission), so the reveal of the off switch and Two's threat that he can use it at any moment shows how desperate Two is in Smart Lair. He's tried everything to get One to stop but he just keeps pushing, so Two has to threaten him with the deactivation. "'I can change my mind if you don’t step. Back. In. Line.'”

That being said, using it once could set a precedent for future crises

anyway.

When they go back with Draxum, Two's already tattled on One for his insubordination because, above almost all else, Two prioritizes the mission since it is quite literally his life's purpose. Like in Bug Busters, he's trying to put One at fault, only now he has a clearer idea of how and why he's failing, and it's undoubtedly One's fault. And this time Draxum sees for himself that One really wasn't planning on helping out at all, which is grounds for deactivation. "'You've become a nuisance.'" If One won't follow orders he's a liability for Draxum, so Draxum orders Two to shut him off. Two complies because A. it's a direct order, and B. it's the logical solution to the problem. It's protocol. As for what he's feeling... probably nothing. Logically, Two knows that One isn't dead, he's off. It's a temporary, controlled state, one that he can monitor himself, so there's no real loss. (One definitely and understandably doesn't see it that way). I think in that moment, if anything, it takes a bit of pressure off Two because the threat has been neutralized. However, both One and Two think that once Draxum takes them off the project they're done for good. So he's also detached because without One, the leader, it's unclear exactly what will happen to Alpha 9. Two knows that Raph and Mikey don't want to be there and have none of the right training. So for him it's a kind of uncertain moment. Two's position is definitely not secure without One and after ratting on his officer and acting pretty extremely, and we see the consequences of that just a second after One's neutralized. But again, to him, the order against One makes sense. They are experiments meant to follow orders. If they fail to do so, they are no longer useful, and thus disposed of. Two was just following orders and standard protocol.

From the audience's perspective though, it's pretty messed up. Two likely won't really realize what he did to One until after he unlearns the mentality that they are more subjects than people, and that he has power over mortality (the "there's nothing I can't fix" mentality is a huge part of how he rationalizes the risks he takes).

Sorry for the long response I just love talking about these two and a lot of what we put into the chapters is very behind the scenes or in between the lines

Glad you liked the chapter! It got pretty intense but we really like to push conflicts and see where it goes :)

[evenmoreofadisaster]

Okay okay 2 hypotheticals and one universe question

1. If one/two looked into the mirror of erised (Harry Potter magic mirror that shows someone their deepest desires) what would they see?

2. If they were in a hunger games scenario would one make sure he and two got to the end and then sacrifice himself (or at least have that be his plan) and would two know that was his plan and come up with a different one or would he be blindsided? (Also would either of them come up with the bluff of both “dying together” in order to survive?)

Lore/universe question

1. Are one and two actually completely unable to access their ninpo at this point? Like I read the q&a response from the rise writer on Twitter recently and he answered the weapons they got originally were more conduits for the existing abilities the turtles have and I wondered if it was similar in the emd universe or different or maybe something undetermined? (If it’s too spoiler specific feel free to just say undetermined so we don’t know if it’s undetermined to you guys or to us right now the readers!)

ooh great questions!

I think One would see Two living happily with the Hamatos + April. Above all, he truly wants Two to be safe and happy and I think somewhere deep down he knows that he can't provide the kind of love and stability that Two needs to have a good life (he still tries though). Two would probably see the ideal version of himself, which would change throughout the story in the details, but overall just be a respected and useful individual. Right now, he'd see a version of himself that is understood by Draxum and an equal to One.

2. HUNGER GAMES. One would definitely have a plan to get him and his brother through the games. If Raph and Mikey are involved, then he probably wouldn't tell Two his ENTIRE plan (assuming Two still wants Raph and Mikey alive). If they're not involved, as long as One knows that Two will be on the same page then One would probably inform him of the plan. HONESTLY though I wouldn't be surprised when they're the last ones standing that Two would double cross One--- mind you, One would probably see it coming so they do wind up fighting each other. I think it depends on what the stakes are though 'cause they'd definitely beat each other up but I don't think they'd go through with killing each other unless the stakes were really high--- but even in that case, One would probably just give up bc he won't kill his brother. Two might come close to it but I don't think he'd be able to go through with it. in the end, they band together and take out the whole organization lmao. Two would blow up the walls.

LORE:

Yes, they are. No ninpo for them. In EMD, the mystic weapons already have some kind of magic on their own, but the ninpo sort of enhances the weapon's abilities, which is why One can still use the portals. He just can't make huge portals and he can't do what Leo was able to do in season 2 or the movie. Any of Two's mystics comes from his mystic crystals, which he uses to make awesome stuff. But yeah, no ninpo, and, to him, that's a very big very bad flaw in their mutation. He's spent a lot of time and resources trying to fix it, even though Draxum doesn't really expect him to. So you can imagine why it's so jarring when their fellow Alpha 9 mutants seem to use their mystic powers just fine :)

[evenmoreofadisaster]

One seeing/focusing alt! Raph and alt! Mikey being successful and completely ignoring how alt! Leo and alt! Donnie are also probably incredibly successful is pretty on brand

Two being like …your twin actually praises you and your inventions? Can we trade (cue two trying to kidnap alt! Leo while the alt! twins try and thwart his plans in classic Tom and Jerry- esque while one is completely hyper focused on alt! Raph and Mikey “being superior”)

LOL yeah.

Despite the ALT twins being really good at what they do, I think Two could kidnap ALT Leo fairly easily. Bc the ALT twins might work well as a team, but they don't have the same kind of training/enhancements as the EMD twins have.

Also, One being so focused on whatever the hell ALT Raph and ALT Mikey are up that he has no idea what Two's doing, so Two comes home with ALT Leo in a burlap sack and One's all like "watcha got there, Two?"

"An alternate version of you I am going to use as your replacement"

"Well put it back"