#Not really too sure about the Mutanimals

[my-name-is-bunnyfoxy]

I keep thinking about all the TMNT 2012 Turtles, April, Casey, Karai, Mona Lisa and each of the Mutanimals' dreams/goals. What do you think would each of their dreams/goals be?

Leo: his goal is to not fail his family and only wants to protect them. Now, later in life, he is determined to rebuild the Hamato clan in honor of Splinter and to help continue the legacy as the new sensei. He is still continuing to do so.

Raph: Not let his anger get the better of him to the point he would actually hurt not only himself but his loved ones. He is glad he finally managed to after so many years control his emotions and not let them get the better of him.

Donnie: To be seen as talented and amazing when it comes to his inventions and tech. And, wishing that humans won't see him as a freak (in almost every version, Donnie wishes to become human so he can be and look normal).

Mikey: To prove people that he can be serious and that he isn't just some dumb joker. While it does succede later down, he still tries to prove himself worthy.

Venus: To show that she is worth enough and is valid. She is a good fighter and she is reliable. She is trying her best.

Jennika: To figure out a way in which she is able to express her emotions instead of looking cold and serious. In actuality, she is a genuine sweetheart and does love her family and loved ones.

Lita: Just be happy. She is a tiny little child.

April O'Neil: Have a normal life. Girl has been thru a lot, she needs rest.

Casey Jones: Become the coolest and most epic Vigilante and fight crime whenever he wants to and beat the crap out of people.

Angel Jones: Similar to Casey.

Karai: Like cannon, repair the Foot Clan and fix it's reputation. Clear the clan's name after Shredder ha'd been poisoning it for years. Along with rekindling her relationship with her father and her siblings.

Scarlet: Similar with April, have a normal life and move away from her mother's past evil deeds and try to just move on with her life and be with people that actually care about her.

[glubby-guppiez]

*Random TMNT 2012 (mainly side characters) hc's bcuz hyperfixation

*(this is the best divider to ever exist btw)

*Warnings: Spoilers for TMNT 2012 ofc, mentions of gender dysphoria and trans related insecurity, transphobia, accidental arson, bullying, manipulation, ptsd, also the tone of the headcanons shift randomly also also typing quirk

*Chris Bradford is trans. )(e did a full transition, he did hormones, voice training, top and bottom surgery, a few different surgeries to make him look/feel more masculine, all the bells and whistles, even went the extra mile to do procedures to hide his surgery scars. )(e's closeted and does about everything in his power to make sure no one even question that he was assigned female at birth because he's scared of his social image of being the great macho man, Chris Bradford, crumbling.

*Leo mainly or solely uses fandom and fanfic socials like Wattpad, AO3, Amino, Tumblr, and maybe Twitter. She mainly interacts with Space )(eroes and Crognard The Barbarian fan posts and shows a special interest in gender swap aus.

*Later on, post show with Muckman's help the mutants are actually able to freely walk around humans without them completely flipping out and starting a mob to witch hunt after them.

*Speaking of walking around humans, Napoleon and the frogs down in Louisiana are considered local urban legend and humans get really excited when they spot the frogs in the woods.

*Dr. Rockwell is a very big coffee enjoyer and used to secretly steal coffee from the nearby shops around the mighty mutanimals hideout and on the rare occasion when someone caught him and called him out he would always use the excuse of the shops being owned by big corporations.

*Don Visioso is a deadbeat father of 5. )(e also has had multiple wives and many divorces.

*Mondo Gecko will call people posers if he's jealous enough of them.

*Ivan Steranko is also trans but has only had hrt and face masculinizing surgery and refuses to get top and bottom surgery.

*Anton Zeck is incredibly smart and performed extremely well in high school and even got free scholarships for how well he did.

*Shinigami is a big video game nerd and will geek out if anyone mentions one of the games she plays.

*The reason Anton hated the mutant name Mikey gave him at first is because it either sounds a lot like or straight up is a nickname old bullies of him gave in order to make fun of him.

*Premutation, Chris acts transphobic towards Xever (despite Xever being cis) out of jealousy and insecurity.

*Baxter Stockman is either a gay aroace trans mspec nonbinary man or a cishet ally. No in-between.

*Mini April cluster!!!:

*April has a deep love for literature and writes poetry in her spare time.

*She almost burned down the culinary class in her school once.

*She's questioning aroace.

*She felt extra empathy for Muckman because he reminded her of Kirby a little bit.

*She likes to hide stickers around the lair whenever has them on her person.

*She thoroughly enjoys having long conversations with each of the individual turtles. (It's her favorite way to spend time with anyone tbh)

*April does eventually take some time to properly learn Japanese and becomes pretty decent at speaking and reading it.

*)(er and Donnie often like to geek out together whenever they find anything new about aliens (both species they haven't seen yet and ones they know well like the kraang).

*End of the mini April cluster!!!

*Kirby O'Neil is a pretty decent cook. That man can make a mean chicken stew.

*Shinigami actually owns multiple cats. 2 ragdoll, 1 sphinx, 1 Persian, and 3 British shorthairs (I could name them all, but I don't wanna). Also, the majority of them are black cats. She feeds strays, too.

*The last headcanon is much to Karai's dismay because she is somewhat allergic. She gets headaches, her skin gets slightly irritated and she gets the sniffles if she's around cats for too long.

*Casey's younger sister wants to be a hair stylist when she grows up, so Jones let's her do his hair every once in a while and he flexes it to every one at the lair like: "Oh? My hair? Yeah, my sister did it for me. Pretty metal, what she did with it, right?"

*Tigerclaw is the only Foot Clan member to not bully Baxter Stockman.

*Someone manipulated and lied to Alopex in order to make her hate and hunt down her brother.

*After season 4, Baxter Stockman leaves New York and takes over Stockman Industries. (If you're unaware of what that is, it's on billboards that the turtles pass throughout the show the most notable appearance being in the ending scene of the final season 4 episode, 'Owari'.)

*Slash deep down still misses The Newtralizer.

*Leatherhead kind of freaks out (apologies for the bad wording) when someone fully wraps their arms around his neck when hugging him because it reminds him of the restraints the Kraang put him in.

*Pigeon Pete learns how to bake so he can make his own bread.

*The turtles get a Wii (or whatever the universes equivalent is).

*Mondo Gecko gets an old Xbox and plays Tony )(awk games, Bully, and Twisted Metal on it.

*Ivan and Anton actually move out to New Jersey post show.

*Alr, that's all for now, toodles!!!

[fabuloustrash05]

2012 Caseynardo’s Love Story Headcanon

How the Leo x Casey ship would come to be if I wrote TMNT 2012

Their love story starts during the farmhouse arc in season 3 when Casey notices Raph is under a lot of stress and pressure from being the temporary leader of the group while Leo is injured and recovering. He’s got a lot on his plate: taking care of Leo because of his injury, looking after Mikey and Donnie, and even being the one who is making sure Mikey, Donnie and April are all keeping up with their ninja training. Because of this Casey offers to look after and take care of Leo so Raph can focus more on training everybody, and Raph accepts.

This decision results in Leo and Casey spending a lot more time together while living on the farmhouse. Casey would keep Leo company at the house while the others were off training, and together they would hang out, play video games, joke together, watch movies (sometimes Spaceheroes), and also chat and get to know each other more. Overtime the two actually became really close, and they realize they had a lot more common than they originally believed. They are both the oldest siblings of their families and they are willing to do everything in their power to protect them and keep their younger sibling(s) safe and happy (Reminder: Casey canonly has a little sister). They both relate to the feeling that they feel more like a parent to their siblings then an actual sibling because their fathers are never around to take care of them because they are always busy so they unwillingly take on the responsibility.

After this moment of realization and bonding, Leo began to develop feelings for Casey first. Spending so much time together Leo began seeing another side of Casey realizing there’s more to him than just being the reckless troublemaker that his brother hangs out with all the time. Leo admires that no matter the difficult and hard situation Casey is in, he always looks at the positive side of it all. Casey comes from a broken family and lives a difficult life (Note: I believe the writers have confirmed that Casey’s parents are divorced, that’s why I say “broken family”) but yet he still holds his head up high and keeps going. He’s actually more mature than Leo thought.

Casey also began to develop feelings for Leo around this time because Leo was the only person who genuinely listened to him and understood his struggles. April never truly did that. She listened, but didn’t understand, and for Raph he understood but hardly listened because he (like many others) don’t take Casey seriously. Also around this time Casey feelings for April began to fade. He still cares about her, and loves her as a friend, but not in a romantic light. He also grew tired of the love triangle, because he knew that April was growing feelings for Donnie at this point, so he found it pointless being in a competition where he already knows what the results will be, but that doesn’t stop him from still messing with Donnie when it comes to April related stuff.

So Leo (being the closest bisexual I HC him to be) becomes very overwhelmed with his new feelings for Casey, while Casey (who I also HC as bi) is chill with it and doesn’t overthink his feelings but thinks Leo doesn’t feel the same for him, when in truth he does like him too, Casey’s just very oblivious. Whenever he would get close to Leo (hugging him, touching his shoulder, etc) Leo gets really flustered and blush and then panic like an idiot, Casey just thinks that he’s making Leo uncomfortable. Leo also doesn’t realize that Casey likes him to because he thinks Casey still likes April because he still sees him rivaling with Donnie for April, which reminder Casey’s only doing this now to mess with Donnie not because he likes a April anymore.

During and after they leave the farmhouse, there’s pining feelings between them, sometimes even friendly flirty. Later on the Kraang are defeated, New York was saved by the Turtles and Mutanimals, and the city is trying to go back to normal. One night while on patrol, Casey ask Raph if Leo ever talks about him when he’s not around. Raph immediately picks up what’s going on (their little moments of flirting we’re obvious to him, but everyone else was blind) and quickly tells Casey to just go for it and ask out his brother, because out of everybody Raph knows Leo had a terrible first experience with romance (Note: Leo’s romantic feelings for Karai disappeared the second he found out she was his sister, something the writers should’ve done, and because of this Leo had a hard time excepting romance again. *Cue “I Think I’m In Love Again” by Kat Dahlia*)

A little nervous, Casey takes Raph’s advice and asked Leo if he wants to go on a date with him. Leo is shocked by this and believe Casey just means to hang out as friends, but Casey tell him that he’s liked him for a while and wants to go on an actual date with him and Leo happily accepts.

Keeping their newfound relationship a secret from everybody else, except for Raph because he obviously now knows, the two have their first day at the hockey rink. The two have a really fun time and by the end of the date they come close to sharing their first kiss, but Leo stops himself. Leo tells Casey that he really does like him and wants to be in a relationship with him but Leo knows he can’t right now. At the moment he has too much stress and pressure of being leader, Karai is still out there lost in her mutant snake form (though Leo is not interested in Karai romantically anymore he still cares about her because she is his family and he wants to bring her home), Shredder is still out there, and who knows what others threats will soon come their way. Casey is sad but completely understands, telling Leo that he will wait for him. The two agree to be friends after that date and the story continues on as per usual with the occasional flirty banter between them both. By season 4 everyone picks up what is going on between them, and some wonder when are they finally going to get together. It’s a “right person wrong time” situation.

By the end, they would officially get together and their relationship would be confirmed during the season 5 episode, When Worlds Collide. Remember that scene of Leo in the dojo training with Karai? Have that scene play out and just replace Karai with Casey ;)

[vvatchword]

I just stumbled upon your blog it’s such a relief to finally see some adult tmnt fans. I am curious. You mentioned Leo is your favorite turtle do you have a least favorite? It’s in general because I am not sure how much of 03 you watched so I am going for In general

You found the right motherfucker. I am friends with LOTS of adult fans. If you want to meet others, I can introduce you.

2003 is actually the one series I know the least about! I know a LOT about TMNT... I've read through most of the comics, I've seen most of the TV series, and I've seen most of the movies. Unfortunately, 2003 appeared in this super awkward point in my life where I had decided I was An Adult Now Thank You Very Much! Also, I had little time for TV, never had cable before and didn't know where TMNT even aired, and just didn't tend to watch television in general.

When it comes to 2003, I've been able to get through most of Season 1... but it's just so clearly for kids, and the animation style is so ugly, that I routinely fall out of it like no one's business. I need to watch it with friends so they can keep me in it. It's really a shame, too; I just know in my heart of hearts that 2003 would have been truly special to me had I experienced it as a child. In a lot of ways, it was the cartoon I wanted as a bab. Unfortunately, I got 1987 :( Archie TMNT was the closest I could get to the maturity and drama I craved. There's a mass shootout in that thing. The Mutanimals all fucking die. I was delighted.

Well. I say that. I got my hands on the original Mirage Volume 1 at age 8 by complete mistake, and THAT is what I wanted most of all. DEATH. DESTRUCTION. BOOBIES. WAVES OF BLOOD. GUN VIOLENCE. DRAMA. POSSIBLE DEATH? Everyone is a washing machine now. GIANT DINOSAUR MONSTERS. FORBIDDEN FRUIT.

As to my least favorite turtle... at first I thought I would say, "Ah, I like 'em all, who gives a fuck." But that's a lie. Raph is my least favorite. I disliked his personality. I cringed at how edgelord he could be. I just wanted him to do the right thing. See, when I was a kid, I glommed onto the Turt that reflected what I wanted to be: responsible and proper and orderly and focused. Raphael was the antithesis of all that, and I was obsessed with Bringing Order, so he drove me crazy by proxy. Basically, I was Lawful Good. I am now Chaotic Good, but that ancient distrust remains!

Moreover... I had a personal problem with Raphael. See, Raphael is basically the centerpiece Turtle. If a comic book had to center on a single Turtle, it always chose Raphael. Volume 1 is FULL of one-offs where Raphael is the only turtle present. The films also tend to focus on Raphael--to the point that he took Leo's arc in the 1990 movie. Hell, he was straight-up the protagonist in 1990, 2007, and 2016. He was also constantly front and center in Archie TMNT--probably the closest the series had to a protagonist. There was a point I just started fucking RESENTING the character. I started thinking that everyone just had it out for my favorite Turtle instead of recognizing Leonardo's problems as a character and how difficult it was to give him arcs, especially in kids' media.

In other news, I thought I turned off anon and I'm just cackling. How did I fuck this up so spectacularly

[obsidiancreates]

Random Into The Neon Rambles (Angsty 2012 Universe Stuff. I mean seriously sad, I cried writing it.)

So I've had the WORST brain fog lately (we keep intending to get a Covid test but it's been over a week and a half now since my breathing became like Just Swam Up From The Bottom Of The Pool But That All The Time and it still hasn't happened yet so IDK at this point, it's dependent on the cleaning schedules) and haven't been able to write SHIT so here's some completely word-vomit rambles about this AU.

April and Casey are still alive in the 2012 universe, but of course the boys died at 19 and I headcanon that they turned 19 in Season 4 and were 19 through all of Season 5 so that means Splinter is dead. The Mutanimals actually moved into the lair and take very good care of it, they set up a memorial to the boys right beside the one for Splinter. April and Casey see them often, Leatherhead took over the main care of Ice Cream Kitty, and they're all trying to get by. April's dad has his hands full these days, trying to be a grief counselor for all of them, and it's difficult because it's not his specialty. At this point he's always on the lookout for therapists and psychiatrists who are either mutant-friendly or, more ideally, mutants themselves.

There's actually quite a bit of focus now on finding and helping other mutants. The reason for the boys deaths was kind of the last Big Thing to happen, so there's not a lot of combat to do in the years following. The occasional alien issue, but April has been practicing and growing her powers with a focus that Casey likes to think is her way of honoring the turtles, specifically Leo and Donnie really, and The Mutanimals have been too.

The boys were alone together when they died. Partly by their own design, making sure no-one else got hurt... or worse.

They knew there was a strong chance they wouldn't make it out this time.

So Earth is well-protected by a powerful, grieving telekenetic/psychic/empath/ninja/general badass alongside a group of kick-ass mutant, a grieving Salamadarian soldier who keeps Raph's mask on her whenever she patrols, a grieving basically-son who's like 10 feet tall and can crush practically any enemy with his mace, a grieving best friend who's determined to carry both Mikey's kindness and ferocity with him always, a grieving teen who just lost some of the first people to truly help him after being kicked out for his mutation, and of course, a grieving big sister who lost her brothers the same way she lost her father and mother: before she could truly know them.

Yes, Karai knew the boys for a few years. But she never knew them outside of War. She never knew them in casual settings, she never even thought to try when they were alive. Now not only are they gone, but the last people who knew her father are, too. April tries to share stories of Splinter, but she can't tell Karai what he was like on birthdays. She can't tell her what he was like as a father, not just to teens, but through childhoods. Karai lost the last of her family before she could even fully appreciate finding them. She's trying, now. She helps a lot with the efforts to find and help mutants who have nowhere else to go. She takes a lot of them into her reformed Foot Clan, trains them to be able to defend themselves, and uses the vast network of international resources for anything that can help. She does it in remembrance of her father, who raised four little mutants as his sons, and those four sons, who accepted her and loved her even after she did horrible things to them more than once, who showed her there was a way beyond The Shredder's and helped her to be free of him.

April tries to find them sometimes. She never learned that kind of thing from Splinter, and her powers actually make it harder to connect to the spirit world sometimes. It's a different energy, one she isn't used to, and she has no teacher. She's felt, at most, a comforting presence, the faintest tough of a familiar paw, but nothing from the boys themselves. She can only hope that Splinter's assurance means they're okay, wherever they are in the universe.

Ice Cream Kitty was very confused for a while. She would yowl and yowl for Mikey. She would climb out of the freezer and drag herself to his room to look for him. At some point they put Mikey's mask in there with her, and a few of his comics. It helped.

They could all tell when she understood. That day, instead of finding her in his room after she escaped, she dragged herself to April in the dojo and meowed sadly until April held her. April cried. Ice Cream Kitty didn't make a peep. April felt the sadness of the kitty more strongly than the cold or stickiness of the ice cream in her arms.

It's been less time for them. The boys are 10 at this point in Into The Neon, for them it's been half the time. 5 years. April is in college, community college. She's not sure what she wants to go into. She thought biomedical for a while, but she kept wanting to ask Donnie for help when she got stuck.

She dropped the class.

Casey is mostly working with The Mutanimals. Leatherhead actually keeps trying to get him to take a break from it, concerned about how much he throws himself into battle. Casey is working on it. He had a breakthrough recently. He has Survivor's Guilt. The boys told him and April to go and convince any stragglers to evacuate, and they did. He wished he'd stayed. He knows he couldn't have stopped what happened, but his last interaction with any of them was a quick nod and a 'Got it.'

He believed they'd come back. Really. He knows April didn't, and tried to assure her. "Those guys are unkillable," he'd said. "If space aliens and Super Shredders couldn't get them, nothin' can!"

He remembers falling to his knees when they came back to the wreckage and saying "Just had to prove me wrong, didn't you?" It was the hollowest he'd ever felt, and he doesn't really remember the words like they came from him. He just remembers hearing them in his voice, distant and far away while he waited for someone to move, cough, shout at him to help them up already, anything.

They were buried on the farm, of course, next to their father. Doctor Cluckingsworth actually protects the graves from the other chickens, and when the others come to visit she usually comes by with some flowers she picked for them. She really only knew Mikey very well, but Mikey loved his brothers, and she remembers that.

The worst part was how peaceful everything became after. April was so angry that they didn't get to see it. That she's living in a world where, slowly, mutants are more able to be known and exist, where there's not a constant threat, where there's chances for harmless fun and just being happy, and they can't be there for it. When they announced a live-action reboot of Crognard she blew up the TV without even meaning to. She just saw it and thought 'I gotta tell Mikey' and then it was obliterated and she was sobbing in her dad's arms.

Casey actually does have something he's considering. He's been the one trying to keep the old vehicles in shape, and he thinks maybe he could be a mechanic or some kind of engineer. He thinks Donnie would laugh about the engineer thing because of all the math that takes, but he's gotten better at it. He has to use Donnie's old blueprints a lot to make sure he's not breaking The Shellraizer or The Party Wagon or the go-karts or anything else while trying to repair it, and you can't really pour over Donnie's stuff and work on the same things without absorbing a little. He's not a whiz by any means, can't do even a quarter what Donnie could, but they work together well. He remembers that every time he repairs a new hole Slash made by accident, or something Mondo accidentally ripped our with his tail while skating past, or anything like that. He remembers working on the hot rod in the barn with Donnie and wishes they made more wild things with each other instead of fighting all the time. He liked that Donnie matched his energy, could go toe-to-toe with him, that they could get into awful fights and rip each other apart verbally and it didn't really matter to either of them. He liked Raph for the same reason. And he liked Leo because he seemed all calm and cool but you could stoke a real fire out of him, and he liked Mikey for a similar reason-

He cries a lot while he's doing these repairs. It's a safe place to do it, and if any of the others have noticed (they have) they don't mention it. They never interrupt him, though he knows April is keeping a psychic eye on him most of the time. Whatever. He's keeping a (regular) eye on her all the time too. At least when he cries over their lost friends, it doesn't have a chance of rattling half the city like they're sitting on a fault line.

Chompy still refuses to fall asleep unless Mona is holding him and she has Raph's mask out. Chompy snuggled his face against it. Slash watches him when Mona can't, because for a while they were deeply worried about the little guy. He was depressed without Raph, and he got sick. It took a lot of patience and care to get him to the other side of that, and the two of them basically made it their whole purpose in life to keep Chompy going. For Raph.

Everyone's trying their best, all for the sake of the boys. For their memories.

They're having a hard time of it.

But they're trying.

[mutagn]

going insane over raph today as i always am. and for the majority of this post assume i'm talking about 2012 raph (and other 2012 versions of characters) but this also applies to mirage and 2003 from what i've seen of those iterations so far. probably idw as well who is to say

but a big thing for me at least writing a lot of the mutants is how there are varying degrees of being an animal in all of them. i think it's clearest with leatherhead, who is explicitly an animal first and as far as we're given in canon doesn't actually HAVE any human dna (we can assume it does just because it's now a humanoid creature, but we aren't told as such). this means that leatherhead is, more often than not, deeply animalistic in both instincts and attitudes. slash gets this too, but i don't think about that little weirdo (@ me write a slash post) as well as pigeon pete, etc - the mutanimals in general up until mondo joins are all well acquainted with being altogether less human than a lot of the other victims of mutagen. i don't think i'm unjustified in saying this is reflected in canon but even if i am my city now. it colours the way they interact with the world, the way their thoughts work, the way their relationships form.

and we are explicitly shown that the turtles were animals first. it could be said that this is where a lot of their conflict with master splinter lies (i hate that guy) - he is expecting his sons to behave in a way that makes sense to him, as someone with dominant human instincts, but. they are not primarily humans. yes, they have human dna, but that was mutated into them. i very much do not think splinter put as much effort as he needed to into understanding the boys, their place in the world - he simply treated them as if they were like him, and they're not. i'm not saying that they should've been treated like creatures or pets, but i am saying that splinter was not even cut out for raising a human child on account of him being a deadbeat so what hope did he have of understanding four boys who are primarily untamed, undomesticated wild animals in addition to adolescent humans.

this is really noticeable with raph and leo (speaking of leo follow @retromutagn who helped me flesh all this out x). it's really easy to answer the question 'who is the most animalistic of the brothers' with 'raph and mikey', but that simply is not true. mikey is deeply human, always shown to be yearning, fitting in best with everyone around him, adopting human slang and culture far faster than his brothers - save donnie who does it faster, who is also a Yearner and gets along really well with humans. it's almost like... they're the most human two. and then leo - we see him most at home in the woods, missing it when they're not there, finding strength in his capability in nature. raph's animal instincts are on display a lot of the time, sure, but they also go deeper than just his anger and defensiveness. it's in his black and white attitude, his desire to stick with the pack, his parental instincts.

i could also chat about how people often mistake raph and mikey and leo and donnie for being the most alike when that is also not true (it's raph and donnie and leo and mikey) but this is already long. just know that's my stance on it

[justaturtleindisguise]

Questions for your tmnt au, if you’re alright with them, you totally don’t have to answer if you don’t want! I also love them so much, their designs are amazingly well done!

1. When did raph find out he was trans?

2. Who is raph talking to on his phone all the time, especially in that one doodle in the first post about the au where they’re texting hearts back and forth?

3. How are April, Casey, and Splinter in this au (if they’re in it) ?

4. Is there any sort of plot you have 👀?

Again don’t have to answer if you don’t want! I really admire your art and creative abilities!

*cracks knuckles*

1. When did raph find out he was trans? Pretty early in life, so much that Mikey and Leo don't remember ever calling Raph a sister. He still uses his birth name, Aka (Red in japanese), and chose Raphael when he was around 9 with his siblings.

2. Who is raph talking to on his phone all the time, especially in that one doodle in the first post about the au where they’re texting hearts back and forth? Raph is always texting April when she's not around because they're besties. But as for the heart messages, I'm planning to give Raph two love interests/crushes. One of them is Monalisa ('cuz I LOVE Ramona) and the other is an OC i'm still planning. I just really love the little red turtle finding love and being s softie hehee~

3. How are April, Casey, and Splinter in this au (if they’re in it) ?

April is a childhood friend of the turts like in Rise, but I'm still planning how they met. The only things I have right now is: she's a lesbian, she's some years older than the turtles, is Raph and Donnie's best bestie and she's brasilian because,, because i need to give them a reason to speak my language lmao-

Casey is more undercooked than April, cuz I want to do some Jonatello like in TMNT12 but I LOVE Rise Cassandra. I'll probally split Casey in a pair of siblings. I plan to make 'em latino because yes, love latinoamerica 'till I die.

Splinter already has some good backstory thought out for him, but I crave to redesign him. I tried drawing him twice, but he looks too much like a mix of Lou Jitsu and 12!Splinter and I wanted to give him a more,, monstruos look? I don't know if that's the right term, but I'm looking for a bigger "rattier" mutant look for him. He's a very affectionate and autistic dad that loves his turtle children very much.

4. Is there any sort of plot you have 👀? Yes I have! :] I'm kinda bad at writing and explaining my ideas, but I can try to give a tiny sumary- Splinter is the reincarnated soul of Hamato Yoshi mixed with one of his decents, that was being kept in a lab for some good years having her DNA used to make tests. He "possesed" his current body while the original soul basically died in the process of getting mutated after the lab where she was being kept exploded. Thanks to various injuries he remembers little to nothing about none of his lives besides fighting and few other stuff. He almost completely forgot how to speak english and spent good years only speaking japanese with the turtles, that until they met April. In the current time (?) they're in, he can remember his former names and has memory lapses here and there.

The turtles and Splints will have family mystics abilities like in Rise, but I'm still thinking of how to implement it without being a straight up copy Shreder is still in the corner not being thought about, just like Draxum, Karai, Big Mama, Usagi, the Mutanimals, etc. Not very sure if I'm going to use all of them too-

As for mystical weapons, wich is a concept i LOVE, the only explanation I have for how this kids got them is: They stole it.

Is very little stuff, but i'm happy to share it anyway :)

Thank u for ur kind words about my art, it really means a lot lot for me! <3 /gen

[nerves-nebula]

I saw you wanted to hear about the Mutanimals, so I have to talk about Pigeon Pete. No one really talks about Pigeon Pete. He only really exists is the 2012 show and IDW comics. I mean he does kinda exist in the 1987 show but he's just a regular pigeon.

He's always a low intelligence character and retains his pigeon behaviors for the most part. He kinda just disappears in 2012 after a point and isn't given as much attention (understandable considering their cast was huge) but I find him to be a fun character. He's just a goofy pigeon guy.

My favorite version of him is in the IDW comic. He's shown to be a really kind character and too trusting/naïve. He likes to do things like cook for his friends, but ends up putting worms/other stuff that don't like. No one really has the heart to comment on it because he means well. He's also really good at board games like an expert level despite his low intelligence.

I don't want to really get into spoilers (never sure what classifies as one), but it's hard to get into Pete angst without some context. Old Hob (IDW's mutanimals leader) is kinda a father figure to some of the mutanimals and I can't say he's a good one. Pete is one of the few that stick with him. Unlike the other ones that stuck with Hob who have a soldier mentality Pete is more of a mascot/morale booster. That's all I say for now.

As a former smart kid that's whole identity was based off my intelligence before burning out characters that's main strength is their kindness and not their intelligence is so important to me. I really love him.

he sounds lovely... beautiful bird who cooks and plays board games <3 i will add him to Mikey's friend group the future!! (Also apologies on taking so long with this ask, the large amount of text swamped me and i kept forgetting haha)

[5-v-five]

dimension x doesn't make any sense to me (and no, i'm not talking about the physics of that dimension - that's actually really cool and i'll talk about it later)

we all know the hc that mikey really spent weeks/months/years alone in dimension x, and truly, it's a fun, angst-inducing hc

BUT

there are just way way way too many pieces of conflicting evidence for me to really accept that hc (for myself at least).

for one, in s2e12, "the manhattan project: part one," when the bros first go through a portable kraang portal, the portal ends up closing right behind them due to an earthquake knocking it down/shutting it.

when they go through the portal, though, they end up sort of in limbo, where they can see different worlds through different Kraang portals. one of those worlds is, ofc, dimension x.

looking through the portal, you can tell that the limbo-sort-of-place is on the same time schedule as dimension x, as it takes a normal amount of time for the kraang to attack them

however, the limbo place is also on the same timeline as their original dimension, because as soon as the portal falls in that dimension, it closes behind them in the limbo one (if that makes sense).

but if the limbo dimension was synced with dimension x, then wouldn't they have more time to go back to their original dimension before the portal closed?

MOVING ON

ok so i'm not really sure which came first (i'm rewatching 2012 rn and i haven't gotten there yet) but there are two more instances i would like to point out: when the bros team up with the mutanimals, and leatherhead

let's start with the bros all teaming up with the mighty mutanimals. don't ask me for the exact context yet (again, i'm rewatching and haven't gotten that far yet) but i do remember that the bros were all in dimension x while the mutanimals distracted the kraang on earth.

in that episode, there is no way that the bros are in that dimension for weeks/months/years, even though the mighty mutanimals distract the kraang for (maybe) a few hours on earth. it just doesn't make any sense.

finally, moving on to leatherhead. we know that he went to dimension x around the end of season one, and he makes an appearance again around the end of season 2, in the episode "into dimension x." when the turtles reunite with him, he tells them that he's been in dimension x for "many decades."

now, i estimate that each season of tmnt 2012 takes place about a year apart (so if they're 15 in the beginning of s1, they're 16 in the beginning of s2, etc). if leatherhead leaves at the end of s1, and comes back around the end of s2, then he's been gone for about a year for the turtles (again, based on my estimation). i also estimate that by "many decades," he means around 6, or 60 years (according to google, the average lifespan of an alligator is anywhere from 30-50 years, but who knows what mutagen does - i said he spent around 60 years in dimension x bc it seemed like a good estimation).

so, with that logic, we have 1 year on Earth = 60 years on Dimension X.

that also means that 1 second on Earth = 60 seconds on Dimension X.

let's go back to mikey's adventure in dimension x.

the bros go in just about two seconds after him, which would mean that mikey was alone in dimension x for just about two minutes.

but how do you explain mikey's immense knowledge of dimension x in only two minutes? i have two very, incredibly reasonable explanations for this:

1 - mikey is a genius / incredibly adaptable / terrifyingly competent - this one just kind of makes sense to me, even if he doesn't act that smart in the regular show. i really think that mikey is incredibly smart, just not in ways most people recognize

OR, my personal favorite...

2 - dimension x doesn't operate on a linear timeline. i mean, think about it - it's physics are all messed up, so why wouldn't its time be? it's very possible that dimension x's timeframe shifts occasionally / randomly, and there's no real way of predicting it. idk if i'm explaining this right so let me elaborate - if dimension x speeds up or slows down at random moments, then it could be that mikey spent years in dimension x in the two seconds that his brothers were on earth. it's also possible that, much like how gravity affects time in our solar system, certain people perceive time in dimension x differently, if that makes sense. (this is where it gets a little murky, so bear with me). without his brothers, mikey could very well have felt like he was trapped in dimension x for hours or years, but once his brothers got there, it slowed down for him. leatherhead could have felt like decades went by while he was fighting/in captivity of the kraang. time in dimension x could be influenced by your situation

*all of this is not to say that i don't like the mikey-angst-dimension-x hc - i just think it's really interesting how dimension x relates to earth in the show. i also think that a lot of these uncertainties come from lazy or inconsistent writing, but the writing of 2012 does leave a lot to be desired sometimes (but that's a whole other rant).

anyway, i definitely didn't mean for this to get so long, so thanks for reading all of this!! :)

[ducknotinarow]

[been meaning to send this for like an hour but kept getting distracted xD - 2k12]

Oh she had messed up. She had messed up really bad and now her brother was in trouble and it was all Angel's fault! She should've listened to Casey, she shouldn't have been so dumb! Sprinting to the lair, panicked and guilt on her shoulders, she called out into their home

"Raph! Raph are you 'ere!!"

She's so thankful he is. An Angel without Casey there was already enough to set off a few red flags. Tears brimming young eyes, she does her best to explain everything. The Dragons, how mad Casey was with her, how they argued and fought,

"Now he's missin' an' he's not answering mine or dads phone!" She exclaims, "I think the Dragons 'ave him an' I dunno what to do cause Casey always knew how t' take care of them an' I've been really dumb an' now he's hurt or or even dead cause of me!"

She's convinced this is the case, and with no one else to turn too, she had risked getting caught herself to come to the Turtles,

"Please help me."

| Muse interaction

Raph was slump back on the couch another Space Heros marathon running so of course Leo was all glued to the screen. Mikey and Don were here as well, eh it was Leo's turn to pick the show. No one could really complain much other than the fact they have all seen this episode before. Raph could quote it even! and maybe has a time or two just because he had the words in his head. Honestly they may have all watched this show once over each just from how often Leo manged to to watch it. Man this show was the worse. Raph thought letting his head fall back as he looked to the entrance of the lair. Begging for anyone to come through them and save him from this. April cause who knows maybe she needed help. One of the might mutanimals even? Preferably his boyfriend. Now he understands why they say to be careful what you wish for.

When Raphael heard the turnstiles he expected to see only one of two humans. Rather that be their friend April coming over for training or whatever or his boyfriend Casey crashing in to hang about at the lair like he been wishing for. When he instead sees Angel though? Well he sort of just tilts his head a little confused by her appearance. Sure see had been here many times before. Heck Mikey instisted she was his little sister and best friend now. Sort of becoming a back up babt sitter. More like a play date if antthing considering how Mikey adored hanging out with her. So Angel being here? Not too weird, but she never came here alone. Worse she had run here easy to tell from how she was panting and had some color to her face. She didn't need to speak Raph knew something wasn't right from the sight alone.

"Raph! Raph are you 'ere!!"

Legs pulled up quick as he twisted around and started to pull himself off from the couch. Making his way over to Angel right away. Dropping down to his knees as he gently sets a hand to her shoulder " 'ight here kid, jus' take a breath." he starts with it easy to tell something had her all worked up, so he's doing his best to keep calm here and not let her own elevated mood affect him. It's not like he wasn't happy to see her, of course he was. He liked Angel, but the situation caused him to go into state of mind telling him something was wrong. "What is it?"

Raph's quick to start checking her over for any cuts or bruises. Casey would kill him if anything hurt her.

Wait a second.

Casey.

Where the fuck was Casey?! Raph's eyes darted back over her shoulder so he could look for Casey there was no way he wouldn't be right on her hells the fact he wasn't here second following Angel? Something's wrong something happened to Casey.

"Angel where is Casey?" He says it in a even tone figuring out why she was crying so hard. If she was here alone Casey had to be in trouble. She tries her best to explain despite the tears. Raph got at least the parts that matter from all the noise. Angel got tangled up with the Purple Dragons, oh great. That alone would have been enough for Raph to start forming an idea on what was going on. Casey was protective of her and he hated the Purple Dragons so Angel having any ties with them? Of course that would lead to a fight between them. Angel may be Casey's loving little sister but well Raph can kind of understand Angel's side here considering things with Leo and himself after all. Casey could helicopter and he was sure that could be annoying at times for her. But damn kid the dragons? He didn't voice it. Clearly she heard enough about it already, besides it wasn't important in this moment.

"Now he's missin' an' he's not answering mine or dads phone!"

They have him.

His eyes grew wide at the thought. His breath caught in his throat, and his heart seemed to stall. He hadn't heard from Casey either so that must be it.

"I think the Dragons 'ave him an' I dunno what to do cause Casey always knew how t' take care of them an' I've been really dumb an' now he's hurt or or even dead cause of me!"

They had the same thought it only made sense that idiot likely went right to the dragons after his and Angel's fight. Knowing them so to get them to stay away from her, and of course he went alone! oh Casey better hope the dragons kill him first before Raphael finds him.

"I'm gonna kill him and kill him again." Raph said under his breath that fucking idiot! What was he thinking. This was Casey he wasn't ever thinking.

"Please help me."

Raph's attetion shifted back to Angel. Large sad eyes still brimming with tears. She was letting her guilt ear at her. Casey was likely in a world of hurt and to her? She might as well be the one to dealt it. Raph just offered her a smile as he took hold of both her shoulders now.

"Since when do ya need ta ask me anything Angel?" He tells her " besides Case ain't the only one 'hat knows how ta deal wit' some lame brain dragons. " After all dragon hunting was one of his and Casey's favorite things to do when they went out to hit the streets together. Softly golding her fave up as he wipes his thumbs slowly and gently just under her eyes. "No need for these either kid, we don' know of he hurt yet right? Gotta be tough for your brother okay?" Trying to redirect her emotions to focuse on her brother instead. "And don' worry I'll kick his butt twice as hard fir makin' ya cry okay?"

Moving arms to take hold of her, you might think in a hug, but no, he moved to lofted her up off her feet and near threw her around to his shell. "Hold on to my neck, Kay kid?" He instructs her to do as he moves to stand up, surrpoting her by holding his arms back behind himself.

"Luckily for ya dumbass brother. I 'ike dishing out payback." He tells her as he looks back over his shoulder to her. And taking off soon after feet poured hard against the ground as he turned the corner sharp and kept going. "Gonna need ya to help, though." He's pretty sure he hears footsteps following behind, but he doesn't care at the same time as he goes to the first man hole cover he knows is nearby.

Casey please be okay.

Is all Raphael could think once they broke free from the underground and started heading to China Town where the dragons main hideout was. It was likely the best place to look considering Casey was gonna be a main target of thiers. Oh, he was in for an earfull for one. He told Angel they couldn't worry about what they didn't know, but that was just to clam her down Raphael's anextiy was causing inky the worse sernarios to be pictured in his mind on what they would do to Casey. Gritti g his teeth hard against each other if they lay a single finger on him he'll break an arm, any marks on him, he'll do worse. A single hair out of place? Hell to pay.

[princessgemma12]

i'm not nero but nonbinary leo Is my beloved - i'll use they/them here, but what do you think their pronouns are? and how do you think their brothers take them coming out? and finally (sorry) do you think Leo lets themself present not-masc, because i think they'd have WAY too much internalized trans/nonbinary-phobia to do much more than quietly correct pronouns for a good while.

Hm... defaulting to 2012 but feel free to ask about Rise or Bayyy

Under the cut 'cause what is conciseness?

I think Leo's pronouns would be they/he/she--preferably they/them but mixes of he/her and even some neutral neos thrown around are just Really Nice for them. Sometimes Leo leans toward one set or another a little more than usual, but they/them is generally Pronoun Perfection. Eventually adopts (they/she/he)/Blue pronouns, sorta, but more on that later.

As for her coming out, I think it would depend. I'll use two basic scenarios here, one that follows the canonical timeline (here) and one where Splinter lives--i.e., "My" basic timeline--in a reblog.

So for "canon" I think coming out would be much easier for Leo--they wonder what Splinter would think, what he'd say, but they don't stress themselves out over it too bad. They hope he would be proud and accepting, is pretty confident that he would be but is still a little nervous that he wouldn't be. They aren't so worried about April or Shini or Karai or Mikey or Donnie--Dee actually helped with some terminology, though he doesn't know it, yet--but Leo is a bit worried about Raph and Casey, and the Mutanimals because he doesn't know them quite as well, and R&C don't really talk about this stuff so they just don't know what to expect.

So he's nervous but fairly confident that things will work out just fine--the little voice that tells them Mean Things disagrees but it's rarely ever right so Leo knows better than to listen to it by now. Still starts shaking when they sit the Main Fam down to talk in the pit, but they power through and try to sip their tea while explaining things. Almost chokes on it a few times but succeeds in not burning their tongue. Shinigami is the first person to say anything, and it's a reference to that tumblr loading screen meme that's been going around--April and Raph almost die laughing, but Leo doesn't get it. Shini has to explain it to them.

They've stopped shaking by the time Raph's calmed down, and everybody's got these little smiles that just say "We're so proud of you! We're so happy you trusted us with this! We won't let you down!" (They do, in fact, let him down, a number of times, but it's not for lack of trying.)

So they move on to gentle jokes and talking over some basic changes that will need to be made--Leo sticks to the simplicity of they/he for now, 'cause they aren't sure how his brothers would react to using she/her. They resolve themselves to other smaller discussions in the future, when they've got their footing back. Donnie and April quickly devise speaking exercises to help get everyone shifted from a he/him habit to a they/them habit, but Karai's the only one on board. Shini picks the change up pretty quick and Mikey stumbles a little but starts defaulting to "thude" (first "dude" but April interjects), which is a little closer to habit and what Leo says "That's a nice starting point!" because Mike's trying so hard and everyone's taking it so well and they really couldn't be happier--Raph keeps stumbling over he and his and wincing and mumbling sorry but he's correcting himself and apologizing even though Leo's not upset.

"It's okay if it takes some time, I don't mind that--I know this is a big change and I know this will be a challenge for you guys, too! I'm really happy that you're all taking this so well and trying so hard."

And Leo means that, he really does! But they all see the way his face lights up when they use they/them and wait Casey what did you say? Case's just been sitting their mumbling "This is my friend, Leo, they use they/them pronouns" over and over again because he's practicing a new introduction to the turtles--he can't just say "These are the turtle brothers, they're my friends" anymore, after all. Leo's just really proud of them all because this is their family, and they're all fantastic and Splinter would be so DAMN proud right now, wouldn't he?

They end up crying afterward and get Mikey hugs for days because how else does Mike show people how much he cares?

All in all, everyone adjusts pretty quickly--the guys and Leo still stumble around how appropriate "bro" is as an affectionate term is, and it's decided that it's fine unless it isn't (usages such as "brooo" or "Bro, check this out!" because it doesn't feel quite as gendered to him as it might to others--they all use it for each other, including the girls, so it's usually Okay). Leo will let them know if it's ever not Okay, but (shyly) makes it clear that they don't want to be referred to as anyone's brother. Sibling is Perfect, thank you. This becomes a Minor Issue for Raph because now there's this big gap in his vocabulary where Big Brother used to be, and it's... just really fucking hard to work that out of their relationship. He was doing great switching his language for Leo and now he feels kind of like a dick because he keeps saying Big Brother when talking to them. Mikey just changes his affectionate Big Bros to a silly Issue One (as in Issue One Sibling, like they're all comic books or something) and Donnie plucked out Androgynous Scaled Amphibian one day it stuck for gods knew why (because Leo laughed like a little kid). But Raph didn't know what to switch it out for. He's stumbling around trying to fill this hole up and he just doesn't know why? Like? What the fuck? Why this one thing?

He's still stumbling through it around the half-year mark and Leo's gotten pretty well used to walking past a conversation and hearing things like "Well, then I told them that they blah blah blah and he said blah blah blah, and naturally I told them to blah blah blah and they..." and Mikey and Donnie's new nicknames. They're no longer shy about correcting anyone if they don't feel like he/him right now but doesn't really know how to handle what's being called the Raphael Issue. They've made their stance on "brother" clear and corrected him, and he's corrected himself, and apologized and said he'll do better but--

As things usually do between them, it becomes an argument.

Things escalate quickly--like, really quickly. It's record-breaking. Raph's not mad at Leo--not in the slightest!--but he's frustrated with himself and why can't he just let this fucking name go? why? It's ridiculous! But Leo's pissed and oh fuck no, he said something stupid and mean and now Leo's crying and--

"Blue, I'm sorry, okay! But I don't know what the fuck I'm doing; I'm not trying to be a dick, I'm trying and I get it, I do, but can we just--"

And he finds his solution! It's like something clicks in his brain like yes, that's who you are--you are my Blue and I love you and this is my name for you now! I'm sorry I upset you, please consider this my apology present. It takes a while for them to calm down enough to actually talk about it, but when Raph explains what he was feeling, and Leo does the same, they get it--'cause for forever Leo was Big Brother and Fearless; those were their names and they meant something important. It doesn't work to just have one but an adjustment--a replacement--needed to be made. Leo likes the way Blue sounds and the way it felt kind of like a childhood nickname, and immediately notices how easy it is for Raph to insert "Blue" after "Big" if he screws up a little. It's cute and rolls off the tongue and they like it a lot. Like A Lot a lot.

Raph notices and kinda defaults to Blue whenever he's talking about Leo with/to someone. Leo thinks it's funny and lets him have it. It makes them both really happy.

It works in their favor because eventually (probably somewhere around one-two years 'cause Leo is a shy and nervous boi) she decides okay I'm ready and I can do this! and open up to more feminine presentation and pronouns/terms. They talk to everyone individually this time--he decides that Mondo's poorly-worded questions weren't worth dealing with right now, and so lets the Mutanimals learn through osmosis--and it goes a little less smoothly overall.

April grins ear-to-ear when they mention an interest in makeup and the excitement is a bit too much too fast for them to handle--she gets it, and backs off, and doesn't mention it again. They understand that the offer for "lessons" is on the table. Karai and Shinigami react more calmly but both slip a couple things in their pockets on their way out--a couple colors of eyeliner and lipstick and two shades of blue nail polish (Leo secretly appreciates it). Casey... Casey handles it. Okay-ish. It's clear that he's uncomfortable but he doesn't say anything and promises to take Leo's requests to heart. Leo gets it. Kinda hurts but they understand because change can be hard. They trust Casey's word and know that he'll keep it, that he means it.

Their brothers are less of a mixed bag, so to speak.

Donnie seems totally unfazed and immediately asks if "sister" is in the same box as "brother" or not, what feminine terms they're comfortable with, etc. He gets his facts straight and Leo balks when he writes them all down. "I need to study these to implement good habits, Leo!" They're privately very very pleased with the reaction and the warning to "check all ingredients on any cosmetic products" before using them.

Mikey asks similar questions but far more rapid-fire. Leo barely has time to answer before the next one is coming at him. In true Mikey fashion, he implements everything very very quickly and throws things around more than anyone else can manage at first. It makes Leo really proud and happy and causes a lot of giggle fits for everyone. The gender euphoria when Mikey says "Oh, yeah, she loves that show! Huh? Oh, no, my sibling Leo! Yeah! He eats it up!"

(The jumbling sometimes happens even when Leo doesn't really want it to, though, and it's hard to explain but Mikey seems to get it and works on it. He stumbles sometimes but usually does fine.)

Raph... doesn't say anything. Like anything. At all. He just grins and gives Leo a thumbs like "Cool, okay"--no questions, no nothing. It weirds them out a little but they don't want to start an argument so they let it go and just kind of keep an eye on their interactions with Raphael for a while. They start finding bottles of nail polish on their nightstand and her meditation mat in the dojo, all blue, every few weeks, and soon they have baskets of the stuff. Apparently, Raph was trying to be encouraging. Leo had to ask him to stop because holy crap how am I supposed to use all of this, Raphael, it's too many!

His name doesn't bother them, never has, but they play with the syllables to figure out how many different nicknames they have to work with--Raph picks up the old name Leelo, something from when he couldn't quite pronounce Leo correctly (he also picks up L for the more feminine days because it sounded like "Elle"); everyone else goes with Lee and sometimes L. Mikey does start calling Leo "Lee-enard-o" as a joke, though, and Donnie's the only one that gets it.

Honestly, it takes a while--probably about three years for Leo to get comfy with themself enough to begin not feeling self-conscious about things. It takes a while longer for them to really embrace the need for more obvious feminine things, but when they do Mikey is Ready with the skirts and dresses, yes, now he has someone to play dress-up with again! and April provides them with a plethora of hoodies with non-binary pride designs (his favorite is their "Non-bino-saur" one). Raph decides to take up nail art and no one is safe--Casey decides he likes the skull designs Raph picked up for Halloween and insists they live forever on his fingers. Shini and Karai are quiet about things but help them embrace their goth side. It becomes a pretty common sight for Leo to be chilling in the pit with a fuckton of eye makeup on and a "cisn't" hoodie on. They absolutely adore all the gifts because yes! gender euphoria!

Honestly, they just become the epitome of assume nothing! and they live for it.

[thecomicsnexus]

TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES #90-92 JANUARY - MARCH 2019 BY KEVIN EASTMAN, BOBBY CURNOW, TOM WALTZ, MICHAEL DIALYNAS AND RONDA PATTISON

As the Mutanimals get ready to go to war against Bishop, Karai returns to take over the clan.

SCORE: 9

This story was surprising, and while the ending was not surprising... it gave me hopes for a while that it was going to end well.

There are some things here to discuss, most of them for the spoilers section.

Metalhead is a villain, I am not so convinced about this. Of why he has to hate the Turtles. I mean, he and Donnie weren’t really friends lately, but at some point he WAS Donatello. Why would he go against all the Turtles?

I am also quite tired of Bishop, I was hopeful during Battle Lines that he was going to end his arc there, but he is still around, and I cannot wait for him to be dead.

So as you may imagine, that part of this upcoming City at War, with Bishop and Metalhead is something I am not looking forward to.

Still, we have Ch’rell in Burnow, maybe he will take care of Bishop himself.

Spoilers after the break...

SCORE: 9

Of all the reasons there were for the Splinter and Karai to clash... the orphans weren’t in my mind. Now... those orphans... I do not know exactly why they couldn’t be returned to the city. But the problem now is that “they know too much”. And for Karai, they would be a very long-term investment... how long would it take for these kids to become ninjas... they cannot even operate a VCR!

In any case, conflict is here again, and I am hoping that all these plots will get to some kind of climax.

Now, about Jennika.

I am not sure if the writers always knew she was going to be mutated, but her character has always been floating around, without much of a personality. And pairing her with Casey Jones, while it may make sense, feels emotionless. Like Jennika is not good at being human and Casey is not really too invested in going too far with her. I still feel like April and Casey do a better match because they complement each other better.

And speaking of April... I still cannot really see why she has to work with Baxter. I understand she wants to keep an eye on what he does, but... well... in other iterations that never ends well, so I am not expecting that plot to end well either.

[nerdgirllife]

Intertwined Dimensions Chapter 2- Kunoichi Training

The evening had started normal enough the night before back at the Mutanimals lair. Y'gythgba was sparring with Slash to start her day off. Slash was cornering her as she tried out some backflips that Karai had been teaching her, but fell down. Y: Rokka. I still can not get these backflips right. Slash: It takes practice Mona, just give it some time. Karai and Shinigami were visiting the Mutanimals before heading out to Japan. As she finished her sparring both of the girls looked at Y'gythgba. Slash: What are you two up to? Karai: Nothing. Come on space girl we have something for you. Shinigami and Karai walked with her back to her room. Y: What do you mean? Shinigmai: Leonardo spilled the beans to Karai about your Kunoichi training. Y: Spilled the beans? Karai: Yeah, he told me that he was your new sensei. Don't be mad at him, he was just excited that you were his first student and let it out in conversation with me. Shini and I are just super excited, April too. We kinda worked together to get you something. Kunoichi training is special. Shinigami: We brainstormed to see what we could get you, to let you know that you can count on us to help you. April couldn't be here because of her job, but feels the same way. Y: Thank you. I appreciate your kind thoughts. It is a bit harder than I thought. Y'gythgba had thought nothing of training as a Kunoichi, except that as a warrior it made sense to learn how to fight in many different ways. Especially in this new world where she was expected to remain hidden and out of sight. Shinigami would not hear of Y'gythgba not accepting their gift, which was a custom made black ninja outfit for her. All three Kunoichi's had worked on her outfit, even putting the Hamato family crest very discreetly on the back of the outfit. Shinigami and Karai waited for Mona to come out so they could see their handiwork. As she walked out Y'gythgba looked to Shinigami. Y: Shinigami...do you not think this is a little too much? Shinigami was smiling impishly at Karai as she thumbed up the new ninja look. Karai: Nope, it looks good on you. You should be happy I talked her out of putting make-up on you. Y'gythgba pulled on the mask nervously as it covered her face. Y: I'm only interested in, how does Raphael put it 'kicking butt'. Karai: Well yeah, I agree with the hothead, who isn't. But this way you can blend in with the shadows.  I mean might as well be stylish while you are kicking butt. Remember a kunoichi has to use the art of surprise and misdirection.  Shinigami adjusted Y'gythgba's face mask and hood. Shinigami: And I know a certain red masked turtle that will probably be super misdirected when he sees our gift. Y'gythgba blushed slightly. Shini: Now you are ready to go kick butt. Let us know what Raphael says or doesn't say. Y: I will, Rokka Rokka. Thank you.

The alien female went down the sewer, making sure to crawl on the wall toward the turtles' lair whenever there was water, still unwilling to get her feet wet in the sewer water. As she arrived she was greeted by Michaelangelo. Mikey: Oh, hey Mona! Cool outfit, very vintage ninja. Y: Thank you, Michaelangelo. She looked around to see where her love was. Mikey (with food in his mouth): Raph's in the dojo with Leo already. Mikey popped some more pizza puffs in his mouth. Y: Thank you. She nodded and moved towards the dojo. Mikey looked at her outfit and felt déjà vu but dismissed it as he proceeded to watch another Crognard episode.

As she stepped into the dojo she saw Raphael and Leonardo sparring. Y'gythgba silently observed them as she stood next to the beautiful tree that reminded her of Salamandria. All training arenas always evoked warm feelings in her no matter the location.  As long as she could remember her place had been in the training arena. Y'gythgba remembered looking up at G'throkka as a child and trying to place a blow on him with her training sword. Training had always focused her, helped her block out her emotions. How many years had it taken to even get a hit in and the look of utter surprise on his face when she had finally accomplished it. The brothers hadn't even heard her come in, but as Raph blocked an attack he noticed her and fell backwards as he lost his balance. Y: Hello. Raphael. Leonardo. Raphael always melted when she said his name. How was it that she could always do that. Leo: Hey, mona. Nice outfit. Leonardo shook his head as looked at Raph's face, it was almost comical seeing his brother go through a range of emotions; was that awe, love, admiration, and then lust followed by embarrassment for thinking of that? Raph: Mona....you're here. Wow. Just...where did you? You look...ravishing (clearing his throat) I mean...you look beautiful. Raphael blushed and rubbed the back of his neck nervously. Y'gythgba smiled and blushed as she watched Raphael compose himself.  Y: Thank you, Raphael. April, Shinigami and Karai thought you would enjoy this gift they gave me to help in my Kunoichi training. Raphael nodded as if he was in a dream like state. Leonardo cleared his throat. Leo: How'd I get stuck with the two lovebirds. Remind me to thank the girls later. Uhh...I feel like the ultimate 3rd wheel. That statement got Raph out of his stupor and he pushed Leo down as they play fought. Y'gythgba smiled as she watched them resume their match. The more time she spent with these honorable warrior brothers, the more it reminded her of what she had lost so long ago. Though she pushed those memories away and focused on her current training at hand.

It was time for her training session as he observed Leonardo turning off the lights in the dojo and lighting  a few candles. Leo: Alright Mona, try to attack me. Remember the lesson here is to blend in with the shadows and remain unseen. Y'gythgba pulled out the sword Raphael had picked out for her a while back, it wasn't quite her old sword. Yet then again Bishop had made it clear that she couldn't keep any of her Salamandrian tech, except for her universal translator. If that was the price she had to pay to stay on Earth with Raphael, then so be it. Leo: Not too bad Mona, you are really picking up the ninjitsu training pretty quickly, even with our different weapons. Master Splinter would be impressed. Y: Thank you. rokka rokka. Y'gythgba jumped out of the way and into the shadows. R: That's pretty good. I see the new outifit is helping you too. Raphael's eyes had not left her and Y'gythgba blushed in the darkness, grateful for her mask. As she ambushed Leonardo she got thrown by a sliding kick off her feet. Rapahel knew Leonardo would pull that move, he was ready for it and caught her before she fell down. Y: (embarrassed at her blunder) Thank you Raphael. She touched his face gently as they looked into each others eyes. Leonardo got up and cleared his throat. Raph smiled with a mischievous idea gleaming in his as held Mona. Raph: Maybe you can find your own dojo Leo. Leonardo threw his hands up in the air. Leo: (Exasperated sigh) Fine. I guess training time is over. Same time next week Mona. (quietly as he walked towards the door) Not that you two are listening  to me right now. Just as Leonardo was about to leave the dojo there was a loud boom and a bright light that knocked them all to the floor. Michaelangelo and Donatello ran into the dojo after hearing their thuds. Donnie: Is everyone okay? My computers didn't register any seismic activity. Raph looked towards Mona as they seemed to be being pulled away, just then Renet appeared from the light. Mikey:Renet! She smiled at him as she held on to the time scepter. Renet: Michaelangelo! Renet observed them all grabbing on to something. Renet: Oh, Sorry turtle warriors and oh! The Salamandrian warrior is here now too, too cold. Leo: Renet, what is going on? Renet: Oh right. (fumbling slightly with the sceptor) Time seems to want you all somewhere. I'll find you all and bring you back. I have to go get a head start, I'll find you don't worry. Just like that she was gone. Donnie: Just great! They all screamed as they were being pulled into the time portal Y: Who was that? Leonardo stabbed his sword into the floor to hold on. (straining) Donnie: That was Renet, a time apprentice. Mikey: It'll be fine guys. Renet said she would come back for us. Let's just enjoy the fact that we are going on a time travelling adventure. As they fell into the portal Raphael reached for Mona's hand R: Mona! (straining to hold onto her) But as they tried to grab on to each other they seemed to fall into a darkness away from each other. Y: Raphael!!

________________________________

Here’s chapter 2. I know I said next week but I couldn’t wait after working on it so decided to publish. Hope you all enjoy it. Just a note too, no leorai for this, here they are just good friends

[fabuloustrash05]

Courting A Salamandrian

Chapter 1 Chapter 2

Word Count: 2711

Warning: Some minor language and swearing

Author’s Notes: Just a heads up to avoid any confusion, this chapter is in Raph’s POV. It’s something I wanted to try and might do again in future chapters. Another thing I have to mention is that I really struggled with this chapter mainly because I added so much and it wasn’t fitting in and making me happy. So I decided to save some things for a later chapter! Now I’m happy with the final product! Hope you enjoy! :3

~~~~~

Chapter 2: Lost In His Thoughts

My eyes widened and my heart began to beat fast, “W-what?” I quickly sat up, gently removing Mona from my arms. 

“Are you and I married?” she said, repeating the question as she sat up.

I didn’t know what to say, so I just asked her, “Why do you ask that?”

“You said that a marriage on your planet is a relationship that has trust, care, and respect for one another. We have that in our romance. You also said that when two people truly love each other, they are married. And I love you dearly, Raphael, and you love me. You even said I was your mate, your ‘perfect mate’ to be exact, so we must be married. Aren't we?” She gives me a cute little smile, making my face heat up.

“I love you too, Mona,” I said still shaking from the question, “but um..” I scratch the back of my head, unsure of what to say, “Mona, you and I are...” I looked at Mona, seeing a mix of joy a curiosity in her eyes. Will my answer upset her? I don't want to do that, but I don’t want to lie to her. I take a deep breath and I said, “No... we’re not married.” 

Mona tilts her head in confusion, “We’re not?”

“Yeah...we’re not…”

“Oh.. I see...” Mona’s look of confusion turned to a slight look of disappointment and uncertainty. 

“Mona, I love you. I really do,” I said quickly as I sat in front of her, “I don’t want you to think that I don’t care about you.”

“Don't care about me?” She laughs “I know you do.” She gently places her soft hand on my cheek. “I already know you love me. I was only curious about the marriage tradition on your planet. That’s all.”

“...Mona Lisa, I’m-”

Mona gently places her finger on my lips, hushing me, “I understand, Raphael.” Mona says as she gets up from the ground. She grabs my hand she lifts me onto my feet. “I apologize for my assumptions.”

“You don’t have to apologize. It’s just...”

Mona lifts my chin up and looks at me with a smile, “I don’t want you to worry about this topic,” She kisses me on the forehead and smiles, but I don't react. I’m still confused about what just happened. How is she so calm? 

“I love you, Raphael. We don’t need marriage to prove that, but I wish to ask you this.”

“W-what?”

“What are we?”

“What are we?” I repeated.

“In our relationship? If were not married than what are we?”

“Mona…” Unsure what to say, so without thinking, I quickly answered, “We’re dating. It’s just you and me.” 

She was quiet for a moment as she stared at me with her beautiful eyes, but soon she smiles.

“Then, that's perfect for me,” she says softly as she gives me smile, “I should be heading home. It’s far past curfew.” She begins folding the blanket we had while lying on the roof. “I promised the Mutanimals that I would help them with their training tomorrow morning. Would you care to walk me home, my love?” 

I noticed that she was offering me her hand, for which I give her credit -- finally learning that on Earth it doesn’t mean you want to challenge someone to a fight. But I don't take it. Mona’s question was all I could think about. She’s right for asking. If we are not married, then what are we? Boyfriend and girlfriend, right? That’s basically what I told her. We’re a couple, we’ve been one for a while now. But not anything more. 

“...Raphael?”

I come back to reality, “Oh, ugh, yeah. Sure.” I take her hand and we begin to leave the building’s roof.

Marriage. How have I never thought of marriage until now? I’ve been with Mona for so long, and yet the idea never came to me. I mean, Mikey and Casey have brought it up as a joke once or twice before - but I just always ignored them. How have I never even talked about the future with her? I’ve been so caught up in the moment with her, living in the present. But now, why can’t I stop thinking about our future? Will our relationship stay this way forever? Will anything change? Our lives with each other have been the same and were happy, but now it feels different. Like, something is missing...

“Raphael, are you alright? You’re awfully quiet.”

I was so lost in my thoughts that I hadn't realized we had already made it to the Mutanimals place, “S-sorry, I was just... thinking.”

“Are you ill?” she says as she gently places the back of her hand on my forehead.

I take her hand and hold it in mine, giving her a smile, “No, I’m not ill. I’m fine.”

“No, you’re not fine. You’re still thinking about what I asked.” 

She’s good at that. She knows me well enough to see when I’m not myself. I nodded.

At that moment she grabbed my other hand and held both of them in hers.

“Raphael,” she said in a firm voice, “I don’t want you to worry about anything. I hate to be the reason for your grief. Like you said, ‘We’re already a part of each other's lives’. We don’t need marriage. Our lives are fine the way they are now. I’m already in your life.” Mona again lifts my chin and gently kisses me. 

“Goodnight, Raphael,” she whispers in a soft, loving tone.

I smile, “Goodnight, Mona Lisa.”

As I watch Mona enter the abandoned building the Mutanimals call home, she turns to me one more time, giving me a smile and waving goodbye. Once I know she is safely inside, I head home myself.

It was almost 2 o'clock in the morning when I returned home. I know Leo is gonna nag me if he finds out I missed curfew. I entered the lair quietly so as to not wake my brothers. 

In the lair, I found my little brother, Mikey, asleep on the couch. As is his custom, he was surrounded by empty pizza boxes, and half eaten slices of pizza were still on the floor. The TV was on. He was probably watching a Krognard the Barbarian marathon, but fell asleep from gorging himself. Typical Mikey. Next to him, also asleep, was Ice Cream Kitty, and my precious Chompy. I smile at them, and grab a blanket for the shivering Mikey. I cover him up, turn off the TV, and begin quietly cleaning up a little of the mess he left behind. I took the pizza boxes and threw the empty ones out. I put the ones that weren’t opened in the fridge, along with putting Ice Cream Kitty back in the freezer so she won't melt. 

I gently picked up Chompy, trying not to wake him, and held him in my arms. 

“You're getting heavy,” I quietly said to him. He was getting big, almost the size of a full grown dog. Pretty soon, I’m not gonna be able to pick him up any more. 

I carry Chompy to my room and close the door behind me. I set him on the foot of my bed where he can rest. As I sit on my bed next to Chompy, I begin to relive what happened between Mona and I that night.

Especially when she said, “I’m already a part of your life, we don’t need marriage.”

I mean she’s right! She IS a part of my life. She’s always been there for me from the moment we met. I remember the moment I realized I had feelings for her. Love hit me hard, literally. That punch strangely awakened my feelings for her and those feelings turned into a crush and that crush lead to me falling in love with her. I don’t even know why a woman like her fell for someone like me, but she did. She called me “noble” and fought by my side so we could get off that ice planet. I earned her trust, and then her affection. She kissed me, God it was amazing! And at that moment I finally understood what my brothers were talking about when they would gush about their crushes. I had finally found someone who I can give my heart to, but then too soon, she had to leave.

Our long distance relationship was like hell - being in constant wonder if I’ll ever see her again, worrying that she’ll find someone else and forget about me, and I’ll forget about her. When Mona and I reunited in Dimension X, I knew our relationship had hope. I then asked her out for the first time, and she said, “Yes”!  After that, we found a way to stay in touch by sending each other messages. Even when we had long distances between us, I knew she was out there -- sending me her support and love, no matter what planet we were on. She would message me telling me about her recent battles she had fought in. I would update her on our progress in our mission to stop the Triceratons. And all that while flirting from time to time. I would write her love letters, something I thought I would never do. Everything was great, until he found out about our relationship.

I never thought one of my enemies would use my feelings for someone against me, but Lord Dregg achieved that. When he learned about my relationship with Mona, he blackmailed her to work for him, to lure my brothers and I into a trap, to betray my trust in her. For the first time in my life, I experienced heartbreak. I couldn’t fight. I was broken. I was full of anger and sadness. I was mad at Mona, but also hurt. Even with all my anger and frustration from her betrayal, deep down I still cared for her. I know now that she had her reasons, and I understand why she did it. She had to make a choice, her entire planet full of innocent people or me. I knew she regretted every second of what happened. It hurt her as much as it hurt me. Now, she never wants to talk about it. I can respect that. 

At the end of it all, she apologized to me and, like usual, my anger took over and controlled me, not letting me forgive her, leading her to make a big sacrifice. She said she loved me for the first time. I realized something that day. She was the key to my strength. I used to just fight for the fun of it. I finally had a true reason to fight. Her love made me stronger than I ever was before.

I blame myself for what happened to her next. Mona Lisa nearly gave her life to save my brothers and I from Dregg’s planet when we tried to escape. I couldn’t protect her. I remember when I held her in my arms when she was unconscious from being stung by one of Dregg’s monsters. I was so scared that I was gonna lose her and for a moment I thought I did. That whole experience we shared was something we never wanted to repeat.

Again, we dealt with long distances once my brothers and I returned to Earth, but this time, maintaining our relationship was more difficult. I had no way to contact her. We were back to where we started. I hated it. Keeping my pain and feelings to myself, I waited for the day she and I could reunite. I didn’t want to open up about how much I missed her to anyone, except maybe Chompy. I never stopped thinking about her. Any time I saw the stars in the night sky, I thought of her. More girls entered my life, but they were nothing compared to a woman like Mona Lisa. I loved her and I stayed loyal to her, even if a part of me doubted that I’d never see her again. But my hope was strong, and soon she returned. And this time, I didn’t want to let her go.

When we finally reunited again, I remember suggesting to Mona that she stay on Earth with me. The choice was difficult for her, yet she agreed. After that day, our relationship grew. We wanted to be with each other all-of-the-time to make up for those times when we weren’t together. I remember when we finally went on our first earthly date. I took her out on a tour around New York City, showing her the sights, and my favorite places to go. I showed her how things work around my planet. She loved it, saying that she’s never seen or experienced a planet quite like mine. After that, I took her to other places, Murakami’s restaurant, April’s old farm house. She even dragged me into space at one point so she could go visit Sal Commander. There I learned more about her culture, and she even taught me how to speak some Salamandrian. I mean, I’m still not good at it, but it's nice to understand Mona a little bit more when she speaks in her planet’s native language.

She started bonding with my friends and family. Leo, that dork, got her into Spaceheroes, and now they watch it together all the time. Mona has gotten close with the Mighty Mutanimals as well. She, Slash, and Leatherhead all became really good friends and are a very impressive team in combat. She and Rockwell always have these intellectual conversations that I never understand. Then, there’s Mondo Gecko who won't stop flirting with her! I always have to give him a “friendly reminder” that she’s already taken. I’m mostly grateful that Mona gets along great with the other girls. My sister, Karai, really likes and respects Mona as a fighter, and Mona feels the same. Meanwhile, there's April who absolutely loves spending time with Mona. Actually not just that, they’ve bonded so much that they told me that they are best friends. So much so, that April convinced Mona that she and I should go on a double date with April and Donnie! 

I can’t believe we’ve done so much. We have done everything together -- from the sparring sessions (with her proving every time why I love her so much when she beats my ass), watching movies together, talking on the phone for hours, going out on patrol to find bad guys to beat or just using that as an excuse to go and make out in private, hehe… 

Anyway, I always enjoy her company. When she isn’t around, I think about her beautiful smile and how happy she makes me feel. Her existence in my life gives me the strength to keep on fighting.

“Are we married?”

Her question repeats in my head. Marriage does require trust, care, and respect. She’s right, we do have that. I do love Mona and I know she loves me. I can always see it in her eyes, her beautiful eyes…but this isn’t just about our love for each other. I remember Splinter once told me that his marriage with his wife was not only about their love. It's about being there for the other one -  to take care of them. Two lives becoming one. Sharing the same goals and dreams. That's what a husband and wife do for each other. 

Am I ready to always be there for Mona? To care for her? To share my life with her? 

“I’m already in your life…”  I hear her whisper in my mind.

She’s in my life but she’s not a part of my entire life…

It's not enough. I realize that now. I don't just want her in my life, I want her to be my life. I want to be there for her, to care for her, protect her, and share my life with her. I am ready to make that commitment. I’m ready to do all of that for her because I love her!

For the first time in my life I’m finally planning ahead, seeing our future. I know what I want now in our relationship, and it's a change I’m ready to make.

Happy and confident in my decision, I lied down in my bed. With a smile on my face, I peacefully fall asleep.

~~~~~

[TAGS]

@waferreyes (for making the beautiful cover) 

@terra-mations (for giving me some helpful writing tips and being the beta reader for this chapter)

@starfiretheninja @kiaratheleo @petrichormeraki @monarel @cesarin @ryebread-02 

(if you would like to be on the tag list to be updated on the newest chapters, message me and let me know!)

Thank you again everyone who showed their support from the first chapter! You’re love and support for this fanfic makes me so happy and encourages me to keep working on this story! Now its time to get chapter 3 done! ;)

[tangshcn]

OOH rottmnt leo or mikey??

this is really long, im sorry joey 

Leo

favorite thing about them: 

he gets to relax for once??? bless

i really love how vulnerable he is, in other iterations you can tell that he’s just aa in need for validation and respect from his brothers but this time around he gets to ask for it and it makes me :,))))

we get a side of leo we wouldn’t have seen so freely otherwise and that side is his Goofy Bitch side, we love an instant gratification seeking, secretly insecure king

oh! and i love his relationships w/ his brothers, how relaxed and teasing his relationship with raph is, that he’s purposefully annoying towards don, and actually super gentle with mikey

least favorite thing about them:

so far? nothing really, he has his flaws but they’re obviously set up for character development

favorite line:

“yeah go big or go home!!” “Yeah, go home on a stretcher! What else do we got, don?”

“Of course he’ll love you, you’re adorable!”

“You’re a champion.”

brOTP:

his brothers and big sister april  +   karai and usagi (i now they’re not in rise but like. please. let him have friends.)

OTP:

Leorai (not That one) and Leosagi, as per usual (i really enjoy his dynamic with these two in other versions, always felt like they treated eachother with respect and as equals + they had killer chemistry, which is prime ship material)

(also leo x his Big Fucking Sword)

nOTP:

you know. 

and april/leo. not crazy abt shipping turtles with april in general

random headcanon

He’s actually really good at math and chess, a big reader too. 

I feel like he mostly has quiet hobbies but won’t stop talking about the more “exciting ones”.

I don’t think he’s the closest to splinter anymore, maybe he used to be as a kid but he kinda grew apart from him (not in an angsty bitter way but like he just got older and shit happens)

Secretly the eldest twin but none of the brothers know.

Was secretly bummed out when he broke his katannas bc he was very attached to them.

unpopular opinion

im a basic bithc, i don’t have opinions

but also his torso is sooo long, leo u good? it creeps me out a little. Which is literally THE ONLY thing i don’t absolutely adore about the designs

song i associate with them:

don’t laugh at me but its “circus” by britney spears bc he’s Like That

also “i do it all the time” by idkhow, vaguely

favorite picture of them

im not a big screenshot person but have this

[leo voice] DISGUSTENING

Mikey

favorite thing about them:

baby. baby boy.  

no but for real i love how this time around he’s actually on the quieter side?? don’t get me wrong i love a good loudmouth mikey but there’s something really endearing about mikey not needing to be the sole comic relief while still mantaining his lovable qualities 

ALSO he’s little artist and i really enjoy that concept, i feel like it hasn’t been done before in depth and it makes him feel more well-rounded

least favorite thing about them: 

i really wish he had more screentime, it feel like he’s suffering the most from the show’s 11 min runtime and i CANNOT wait for his spotlight episode

also i feel like he kind of fades into the background bc of how LOUD and BIG his brother’s personalities are, though im sure that’ll be fixed soon enough

favorite line:

“ok sweaty-spaghetti, give us our dad back!!”

brOTP: 

him and his brothers+april!! and as soon as we get them: the mutanimals

OTP:

i know he’s not here yet but,,, mondo gecko,, stoner lizard bf (when mikey’s more into his teenage years, though. he’s still bappy)

nOTP:

incest shippers c h o k e, also april/mikey bc... they’re big sis and lil bro

random headcanon

contrary to popular belief, the most likely to go apeshit, to go absolute feral.

unpopular opinion

while i adore him with all my heart, he’s not my favorite mikey (its 2k3 mikey, the lovable asshole)

song i associate with them

i have none :(

favorite picture of them

like i said, im not big on taking screenshots, sorry mike

[robotnik-mun]

Robotnik Art Historia- Part Two: The Road to Endgame

Hello there, and welcome to the Robotnik Art Historia, where we journey through the various artistic interpretations of the dearly depraved doc over the course of Archie Sonic’s existence! 

In this installment, we observe some the later artists who contributed over the course of what was considered The Classic Era, leading up to issue 50. While many of the regular artists were firmly in place by this point (Manak, Spaziante and Mawhinney), there were still others who would step up from time to time. Many of these artists worked sporadically on the book during this time and after it, with one rather major exception- none the less, each one put a fairly unique stylistic spin on the doc, for better or worse. And that’s what this is all about. 

6. Brian Thomas 

Brian Thomas, prior to coming to Sonic, was an artist for Archie’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Adventures book, and also did work on the ‘Mighty Mutanimals’ spinoff. By this point the Archie TMNT comic had been cancelled for a while now, and it was likely he was bumped onto the TMNT book under the basis that his experience in drawing humanoid animals would be a boon. Jury’s out on that front, but he wasn’t a bad fit all the same. His Robotnik tended to be drawn with somewhat thin limbs, and he made Robotnik’s nose more bulbous...in that respect, his design was actually closer to that of the Sonic games than the SatAM show. 

7. Richard Koslowski 

Rich Koslowski was an inker who got to do pencils for a single story, issue 37′s “Bunnie’s Worst Nightmare”. There is not a lot to say about his take on Robotnik other than the fact that he seems to be a middle ground between Mawhinney’s and Thomas’, possessing the visible black pupils of the latter and the overgrown nose of the other. Uniquely though, his depiction of Robotnik would see to treat what is normally Robotnik’s iris as being his actual eye, with the black ‘sclera’ seemingly being the shadows around his eye, a creative conceit that was actually contemplated in SatAM’s concept art before moving on to the final design. An interesting coincidence, to be sure. 

8. Manny Galan

A fresh young face at Archie, Galan much like Spaz took some time to really get things down right, but to his credit Galan really managed to do Robotnik justice, drawing him as a massive, menacing sort that was all too appropriate for the character. Galan started out on the Sonic book proper, but his ‘big break’ came when he did the art on the Sonic Quest miniseries. Galan would then become particularly famous for being the main artist on the Knuckles the Echidna series. Over time his style would evolve to become more anime-esque, but whatever the particular period, he always drew the Big Round Guy Well. 

9. Kyle Hunter

Working primarily as a colorist, Kyle Hunter did pencils for exactly one issue of Sonic, so there’s not a lot to say really. His take on Robotnik is fairly standard, though weirdly enough he was depicted as ultra-detailed on the first page and then far toonier on the second. Why this is, I have no idea- but either way, his Robotnik was competently handled if not particular noteworthy, seeming to take cues from Spaz’s depiction. 

10. Nelson Ortega 

Nelson Ortega is a bit of an odd one. He did several issues for the book, and a lot of that artwork looks... kinda lousy, in all honesty. However, his one bit of Pro-Art, pictured on the left there, demonstrates that he is in fact a stellar artist. This leads me to believe that the lack of skill demonstrated in the book proper may fall on the inker... who, ironically enough, was the previously examined Brian Thomas. Anyway, despite the problems with the final art in the book, his depiction of Robotnik is pretty impressive all the same, ESPECIALLY in the pro-art piece. It’s just a shame would couldn’t have seen more like the latter rather than the former. 

11. Sam Maxwell 

One of the last additions to the ‘classical’ era of the book, Sam Maxwell’s style tended to throw a lot of people for a loop. VERY rubbery and cartoony, many have claimed that his characters look like they’re stuffed with balloons, and a lot of the times the proportions on his characters would shift from page to page or even panel to panel. How good or bad a fit he was depends on your personal tastes, and honestly I always kinda liked his style. His Robotnik was also pretty distinct looking, with a lot of emphasis placed on his teeth and the absolutely MASSIVE size of his ear implants. Maxwell would linger on a while after Endgame and even contribute a bit of pro-Art before disappearing into the ether. 

And with that, the second installment of the Robotnik Art Historia comes to a close! Sufficed to say, the art didn’t want for variety in these days, and that trend would continue in the time period we’ll be covering tomorrow- the Post Endgame Era!