#and leo being both the 'best' and the 'worst' of the ninja skills - in that he's hard to train bc it kind of...comes easy-ish?

[turtleskissingew]

THESE ARE ALL THE SAME SETS OF CHARACTERS.

I made a set of fankids based on every tcest combo out there, and made them a family.

They're between the ages of 18 and 21 (yes I do draw them as actual kids/tots sometimes, but I more often draw them as adults).

I figured this falls under the tcest blanket so, fuck it, I'll post their bios here.

Musashi

Age - 21

Mask - Yellow

Weapon - Wakizashi

Father - Mikey

Mother - Leo

Interests - kendo, anime, getting high

The oldest of the kids, Musashi grew up not taking much responsibility. While he tries to be a good big brother, he’s very laid back and not really the leading type, making finding a ‘leader’ for their clan of ninja very difficult as a result.

While skilled in both kendo and ninjutsu, Musashi is very lazy, and would rather spend his time watching TV and eating snacks. He tends to try to relieve his siblings’ stress through his words, with varying results.

Okyo

Age - 20

Mask - Dark Blue

Weapon - Tonfa

Father - Leo

Mother - Raph

Interests - Painting, yakuza, the surface/new york

Second born of the new Hamato clan, Okyo likes to go by the lone wolf philosophy; you don’t need him, and he doesn’t need you. Despite these claims he’s insanely attached to his best friend, Toby, and seems hellbent on the idea of dying for him if need be.

Okyo is obsessed with the yakuza, and wishes he could be the member of one. This may stem from his desire to actively leave the lair and live a life above ground. He uses his body as a canvas for his art, and even lets his siblings paint him as well.

Rosalind

Age - 19

Mask - Dark Purple

Weapon - Naginata

Father - Leo

Mother - Donnie

Interests - Reading, chess, running

Rosalind is considered the most intelligent and most threatening of her siblings. Skilled in combat, and especially tactics. She spends most of her time training her mind, and is obsessed with the idea of being a master tactician. She is a likely candidate to be the future leader of the clan, though there is one problem…

Rosalind is horribly socially inept. She doesn’t know how to communicate very well, often saying the wrong thing, or sometimes nothing at all. Her ability to read the room is poor, and she sometimes doesn’t know how to properly react to things. This has led to her getting into spats with her more sensitive siblings.

Bram

Age - 19

Mask - Soft Pink

Weapon - Tessen

Father - Donnie

Mother - Mikey

Interests - Math, superhero comics, cooking

Bram is a painfully normal guy. Among his siblings, he doesn’t stand out much, and he’s aware of it. His interests in superheroes are mainstream and broad, but he does excel in cooking and math, traits his siblings seem to lack. When it’s time to make a meal, Bram is the one his parents call to help.

Bram has an intense fear of dying alone, likely brought on by the idea that everyone he sees in fiction often has a romantic partner, and the fact that his family seems either content in their own relationships, or longing for ones as well. He feels getting into a relationship is important, but also feels he’s too uninteresting to attract a partner.

Frida

Age - 18

Mask - Purple, Flower pins

Weapon - Kama

Father - Raph

Mother - Donnie

Interests - Herself, social media, selfies, cute things

Frida is obsessed with social media, and were it not for her family’s strict rule about ‘staying in the shadows’, she would be plastering her face all over the internet. She loves herself, and wants the world to love her as well. She is locked into internet culture and often talks about what’s popular as a result, whether or not anyone wants to listen.

Frida is the worst ninja in her clan, but she still has some skills she can use in self-defense. Her friendly and very positive personality aids her more in avoiding fights than becoming part of them, thankfully. She is also the worst cook in her clan as well; keep her out of the kitchen.

Victor "Vic"

Age - 18

Mask - Faded Red

Weapon - Chigiriki

Father - Raph

Mother - Mikey

Interests - Cartoons, old toys, classical music

Gentle and kind, Vic is a big eater and a sweet soul who would never raise his hand in violence or self defense if he could help it. The only reason he trains at all is because his parents require it, and because he wants to protect the ones he loves.

His interest lies in things of the past. Classical music, old cartoons, and even old toys, the paddle ball being his favorite one. He’s caring and mostly keeps to himself, or is often seen with his twin sister, Missy.

Artemisia "Missy"

Age -  18

Mask - Pink

Weapon - Tekken

Father - Mikey

Mother - Raph

Interests - Makeup, action films, metal music

Missy is Vic’s twin sister, in a sense. Same parents, same time. She’s considered the baby of the family, and as a small child was demanding and constantly wanted her way, something her mother tended to cave in on. This seeped into adulthood, becoming a little rotten as a result. While she genuinely cares for her whole family, she has a wicked rebellious streak, and likes to do dangerous things just to get attention. Her attitude has garnered her a negative reputation among her siblings, save for Vic.

Her tastes reflect this, as she listens to loud, heavy metal music, sometimes puts on excessive makeup, and watches a lot of high budget action films and sometimes tries to emulate the stunts in them. She loves a good fight, and will sometimes try to start one for fun.

[shootsun]

guess what movie i just watched ;)

(don't look too much in the tags i'm just screaming about rottmnt)

[beetlegoose01]

Frostbite- Recovery (Chapter 3)

It was a decent day outside after a long, boring day of school. Crisp, clear, the sun peaking out from behind the canopy of clouds scattering the periwinkle blue sky. Casey strolled through the crowded streets of New York, thrilled to hang with his best (non human) friends.

"Casey, wait up!" Riley whined, blowing a huge bubble of pink bubblegum. She trailed behind her older brother with less pep in her step, due to her lugging a heavy backpack. She was a short middle schooler, with a jet black pixie cut and dark almond shaped eyes. Freckles dotted her fair cheeks. A complete pain, but he would be lying if he didn't say he cared for the little squirt.

"Sorry kid." Casey said, ruffling his little sister's hair, much to her annoyance. "I'll walk slower."

"So what are we gonna do today?" She asked eagerly. "The sky's the limit!" She flashed him a cheeky, braces filled grin. Riley didn't really have any friends of her own. Too shy, and a bit strange around her classmates. Her love of sports made her an outcast with the girls, and none of the boys wanted to hang with a 'weirdo'. Luckily, Casey would be her best friend for life, he had vowed that.

"You said it!" Casey checked his phone. A text from Raph asking if he was joining them for patrol.

Riley frowned. "Is that one of your friends again? The super weird ones?"

"Er...yeah." He pocketed his phone. "Boring friend stuff."

"Yeah, your gang."

"They're not a gang..."

"Mhm. Sure. I won't tell dad you're a drug dealer if you tell me the truth." She sang.

"I'm not a..." Casey said. "You're bluffing."

"Am I?" She looked mischievously at him, winking.

Laughing, Casey flicked her nose.

Riley looked at him seriously. "You're not gonna ditch me for them, again, right?"

"Nah, don't worry. Come on, let's go to the rink."

But Riley seemed distracted. She trailed ahead, following something that Casey didn't see.

"Hey, Ri! Wait up!" He panted, raising an eyebrow. "Riley Elizabeth Jones! You can't just run off..." He was starting to sound like her mother- which was enough to make him stop talking.

"Look at it..." She crouched down, cooing at a little racoon blinking and twitching its nose at her. "I'm gonna call you Sparky."

Casey winced, reminded of rats just by looking at the weird creature. "Ugh, no you're not- come on before the rink closes, pipsqueak."

"Aw, okay."

~•~

Evening drew quicker than he expected, and before he knew it, the sun had dipped down the horizon and the sky was a peachy orange. After making sure Riley was safe at home, he ducked through a manhole cover and climbed into the depths of the creepy sewers. The sewers weren't terrible, but he would be lying if he didn't have to plug his nose in order to prevent the foul odors from entering his precious nostrils. He didn't know how the turtles managed it. Wait...do turtles even have noses?

'I'll have to Google that later.' He thought to himself, trudging through the mucky waters, trying his best not to think about what exactly was in the water. Though he already knew the answer, it wasn't fun to dwell on such disgusting matters.

No, Casey Jones could handle the smell. But what he couldn't handle was...

A rat scurried past him and he let out an involuntary squeal of horror.

Rats still gave him the creeps.

Sighing, Casey stumbled his way into the lair, where he was pleased to find Raphael hunched over a game of pinball, deep in concentration.

"Hey Raph." He greeted, leaning forward to get a closer look.

Raph only grunted in response.

"We're still on tonight to ride our bikes?"

"No, Dr. Frankenstein still hasn't fixed my bike."

"Ah jeez. We can still hang though tonight? At patrol?"

"Ha, I wish! Nah, Leo wants us to go searching for the mutant tonight." He grumbled back. The ball spun around and fell forward, the brief moment of distraction causing the turtle to lose. A big 'Game Over' in neon lights hung mockingly over his head. "Argh...damnit!" He punched the arcade machine so roughly it nearly toppled over. "Whatever, that game's stupid anyway."

"Where is Leo anyway?"

"Doing some meditation shit with April and Sensei." Raphael shrugged. "To focus their minds. I dunno, I wasn't really listening. I tend to tune Leo out, y'know?"  He gave a wicked grin. "Say, we might have some time to read some comics or-"

An aggressive, distorted guitar riff interrupted their banter- followed by what sounded like a man screaming like a banshee.

"Woah!" Casey exclaimed.

Raph grimaced. "Not again. He's always playing it at the worst possible moments."

"Mikey?" Casey wondered, thinking the genre of music must be the orange clad turtle's choice.

"Mikey?" Raph repeated, shaking his head. "Nope, that's all Donnie. When he needs to 'unwind' he plays it as loud as possible. Even without headphones!"

"Donnie?" Casey said, flabbergasted. "But he's so-"

"Geeky? Yeah I know. I can't believe he of all turtles thinks that crap is real music."

"Hey, it is real music!" Casey said defensively.

"Oops, did I strike a nerve?" Raph teased. "Didn't know you liked it."

"Well yeah! The Electric Skullz are legendary!"

"Aw, nerd bonding." Raph held a stubby hand up. "Please save me the embarrassment and go talk with someone who cares." He gave Casey a condescending pat on the head.

"Maybe I will." He said gruffly, following the noise.

Raph chortled with laughter, only stopping when he realized Casey was serious. "Wait- come on, man. I thought you and Donnie hated each other? Let's go do something- and he's gone."

Realizing he was now alone, he crossed his arms. "Eh, I'm gonna go watch Full House."

~•~

Casey hesitated, but ultimately his love for the heavy metal tunes was enough to follow it.  He felt awkward, like he shouldn't be doing this. Casey Jones was no snoop- he just was embarrassingly curious for his own good.

Passing Leo's room, then Mikey's, he finally found the last room in the hall. He creaked open the door, peering inside.

Donnie's room had clearly not been slept in very often. It was neat, but not in the same neatness as Leonardo's, who frequently cleaned his room but it still looked used. This room looked barely touched, and the bed had no creases or anything proving a living being had slept in it. A folded tatami mat was poking under the bed. Posters of scientists, newspaper clippings and photographs were decorating the dull grey walls, strung together with such precision. Some inventions were scattered on the floor, clearly failed ones as they had wires sticking out.

But what caught his eye was the turtle in the middle. He was...dancing. Every movement he made was precise, delicate. Of course, the skills of being a ninja helped, but each step was to the beat (well, less beat, more of intense screaming). It was surprisingly adorable.

Wait...adorable? That couldn't be the right word. 

"Sick moves!" He said, hoping his voice was loud over the music.

Donnie froze, suddenly aware he was being watched. His expression was a mixture of being mortified, then slowly switched to horror and anger.

"Wh- I- I wasn't-" He sputtered, blushing and stumbling over to shut the stereo off.

"Hey, hey, chillax." Casey raised one hand to show he meant no harm. "I love the Electric Skullz too!"

Donnie looked puzzled. "Y...You do?"

"Heh, for sure!" He replied genuinely, a smile revealing itself.

Donnie smiled back, finally relaxing. "And you're not just pulling my leg?"

"Nope. I'll prove it to ya. In 2012, the lead singer of the Electric Skullz was Nova Kun. She then stepped down after mysteriously disappearing. And then was replaced by-"

"James Mercedes!" Casey and Donnie finished in unison.

"Woah..." Donnie's eyes sparkled with delight. "My brothers always hated heavy metal. I don't even think they consider it real music!"

"Not even Mikey?"

Donnie shook his head. "He likes that bubblegum pop stuff. It's okay but..." He rubbed the back of his neck. "Not really my thing."

"Me neither." He agreed. "Don, you shouldn't be embarrassed or ashamed. This stuff's cool."

"You think so?"

"Would I ever lie to you?"

Donnie looked at him wearily.

"Would I ever lie to you about music?" Casey said. "I'm very serious when it comes to good tunes."

He thought for a moment, then smiled. "I guess not."

Casey returned the smile, bumping his shoulder playfully. The turtle's cheeks warmed, chuckling.

"Maybe you aren't so annoying."

"Gee, thanks, I'm touched." Casey said sarcastically. "You aren't so terrible either."

The bedroom door slammed open abruptly, causing both human and turtle to jump. A stoic Leonardo was behind the door.

"Patrol time Donnie." He said simply, his arms behind his back. "...and Casey?" He squinted, trying to process what he was looking at. "Uh...what's going on guys?"

They exchanged looks.

"Nothing!" lied Donnie.

"Just a couple of dudes being bros." Casey said, draping his arm around the tall turtle's shoulders. "Amigos, chum of chums..."

"Not there yet, Jones."

"Eh, he's warming up to me. We're like comrades...buddies..."

"I think I get it." Leo smirked.

Casey found himself leaning against Donnie's closet after he was pushed aside. "Say...why do you even have this? You guys don't even wear clothes..."

"That information is classified." Leo narrowed his eyes. "So, patrol?"

"No problemo Leo." Casey said quickly, stepping away to leave the room. "Are we partnering up again?"

"No, this is a solo stake out mission."

Casey looked back at Donnie who's eyes flickered in ...disappointment? The action was so brief, he barely caught it. No doubt Donnie was just upset about not being partnered with April. Yes, that had to be right. Why else would he be disappointed? Though Casey would be lying if he said he didn't want to talk about the Electric Skullz some more.

"You coming, Don?" Leo glanced back at his younger brother who hadn't moved from his spot.

"Yes, of course." The blank stare from Donatello had switched to a serious, determined one.

"Let's go."

~•~

Leo climbed out of the manhole cover, followed by Raph, Mikey, April, Casey and Donnie. He scanned the area, checking for anything suspicious. As the oldest brother and arguably the most mature, he had a duty to protect his family. So far the only suspicious activity was a raccoon rustling through a trash can. But he would never let his guard down for anything.

"Mikey and I last saw the mutant near Eastman and Laird. I'm thinking we scope around, keep our eyes peeled. If you see anything- and I mean anything, contact one of us and we'll come for backup. Your T-Phones are there for a reason."

"I dunno, Scalysnout was pretty tough!" Mikey said.

"Scalysnout." Raph repeated.

He looked sheepish. "Eh, it needs work." 

"A lot of work."

After each member was assigned locations, Donnie started his mission alert and focused. Though he liked working with his brothers, April and to a lesser extent Casey, he was more in his element when he worked alone. It gave him time to breathe. Of course, the return of a dangerous mutant wasn't exactly comforting.

Climbing the roofs, the mutant ninja concentrated on making sure he wasn't being followed. Which involved him frequently checking behind himself.

'It's not paranoia, it's called being sharp.' Donnie silently quoted Leo under his breath.

The night was oddly quiet though. One would breathe a sigh of relief at the prospect of an early night, but Donnie still felt uneasy. He glanced around, the full moon glistening in the sky over a blanket of stars. Peaceful, if one wasn't anxious about a rampaging monster patrolling the dark streets.

Still...it didn't seem like anything was happening.

"Hey, let go of me!"

'And once again, I've spoken too soon.' Donnie thought bitterly to himself, but he followed the sound of distress.

He slid down the fire escape, landing in a dark alleyway. Turning the corner, but still hiding in the shadows, he found the source.

A girl, maybe eleven or twelve years old was furiously fighting off two Purple Dragons with her fists. Her attacks, though admirable, were completely useless. The gang members merely jeered and pushed her effortlessly to the ground. The girl was definitely a bit strange, especially with the racoon perched on her shoulder- but Donnie didn't have time to judge her.

"Ha, got it!" One of the members snatched her phone, tauntingly holding it over her head. Because of her size, she had no chance of grabbing it back.

"Give it back, creep!"

Donnie had to act now or this girl was toast. Raising his bō in front of him, he whacked one of the members to the ground with a swift movement.

"What the-"

"Who did that? Show yourself!" One of the men demanded, swinging his switchblade defensively.

The other lay on the ground groaning in pain.

Donatello knew better than to make himself seen- especially in front of the girl. But that didn't stop him from defending her. He jabbed his staff directly in the other man's solar plexus, knocking him down instantly. 

Realizing their invisible opponent was fierce, the Purple Dragons made a hasty retreat.

"Wow that was nuclear!" The girl exclaimed, eyes wide. "Thanks, er, whoever you are."

"Not a problem. Do you need help getting home?"

"Yeah, my brother would probably kill me if he knew I was walking home alone. I just came to pick up some food from Murakami and then those creeps attacked me."

"They're known for that." Donnie agreed. "You really shouldn't be walking alone at night. It's dangerous for a kid." He hadn't meant to sound condescending, but the girl bristled anyway.

"Hey, I'm thirteen!" She paused, biting her lip. "Almost."

Donnie chuckled lightly. "Still, I'll help you get home."

"Thanks...erm...?"

"Donatello." He supplied.

"I'm Riley." She started to walk ahead, but realized her new friend didn't seem to be following her.

"I'm behind you, don't worry." Donnie said. "Just have to keep my distance."

"Ain't ya gonna show yourself?"

"Better not. But if anyone comes at ya, I'll help."

Riley stopped, now suspicious. "Come into the light."

"Riley I..."

"Do it now."

He could hear Master Splinter's scolding as he stepped out of the shadows in front of the streetlight. He held his breath, awaiting a scream. A little girl seeing a giant humanoid turtle was destined to end horribly. But she had a gutsy look in her eye that comforted him slightly.

"Woah..." Riley uttered. "You're a ..."  She reached a shaky hand to lightly touch Donnie's bicep. "You're real?"

Donnie nodded slowly, his brown eyes looking gently at the little girl. "I am."

"Are you an alien or...is this a costume?"

He chuckled. "Not quite."

"Either way, I owe you one for saving me. I don't care what you look like. I've seen weirder."

Donnie had a faint suspicion she was referring to the Kraang invasion.

"Besides," She continued. "No one will mess with me if you're by my side." She smirked, and Donnie swore her cheeky grin looked strangely familiar.

~•~

By the time Donnie had returned, the other three brothers were already at the lair. To his surprise, it wasn't Raphael who was in a sour mood. It was Leo, who stormed over with the rage of someone who was told Space Heroes had been cancelled.

"Where have you been?" He demanded, cutting any small talk.

"On...patrol?" Donnie stared down quizzically at his shorter brother. "Like we were supposed to."

"Don't sass me. You had us worried."

"I wasn't worried." Raph replied honestly. " "Chill, Mother Hen. Donnie's a big boy." Raph rolled his eyes.

"Thank you, Raphael."

"We all came back half an hour ago." Leo crossed his arms bossily.

"Don't mind him. He's just grumpy because none of us found Scaleysnout." Mikey murmured, eyes glued to the TV screen.

"That's not why I was...I was concerned, is all."

"I wasn't aware there was a curfew." Donnie shot back irritably. "Something held me up."

"Like what? A stop sign?" Mikey said, collapsing into giggles as if it was the funniest joke. When nobody laughed he scooted back to the television set. His oldest brothers stared at him for a moment, before looking back at Donnie.

"Explain?" Leo asked.

"The Purple Dragons attacked some kid. I couldn't just stand there so I defended her."

"Nice work D!" Mikey praised.

"How admirable." said Raph sarcastically. "You saved one person. Do you want a gold star? We save people all the freakin' time, genius. Except we don't usually gloat about it."

"I'd hardly call that gloating." defended Donnie.

"Besides you should really talk. You gloat, like, all the time Raph." Mikey teased, bracing himself for Raphael to slap him on the head. "Uncle, uncle!" He wailed. "I'm sorry! Raph, stop!"

Leo stayed silent, analyzing the situation. 

"She was just a kid. I didn't know what else to do." Donnie said, reading Leo's unimpressed body language. "And she didn't freak out when she saw me...so that's always a plus."

"She saw you?" Leo repeated. "Donatello, that was completely foolish! You know Sensei always told us to stay in the shadows."

Donnie hung his head, already preparing himself for a lecture.

"When I tell Splinter..."

"You wouldn't, Leo." Donnie interrupted. "Because that would be so hypocritical of you, and you know it. Showing myself was the only way to save her- Riley. And who's going to believe that a giant talking turtle saved her from a gang? Be realistic."

Leo's lips twitched, ready to retort, but didn't. "Fine."

Raph looked up, releasing Mikey from a chokehold. "Did you say Riley? That's weird."

"It's a fairly common name Raph."

"Well, yeah. It's also Casey's sister's name. He's mentioned her a few times to me."

Donnie perked up slightly. "Oh...that's interesting."

"Could just be a coincidence. New York is a pretty big city."

"I guess so."

"You need to be more careful, Donnie." Leo scolded. "You were lucky this person you saved was related to one of our friends. If she even is."

"Jones and I aren't really friends." He thought for a moment, remembering just a few hours ago when they bonded over music. "It's complicated."

"Aw no way!" Mikey complained. "I thought you two were finally getting along! This is bogus, dude!"

"Why do you even care?"

"Because you two have a lot in common!" Mikey scooted over. "I thought you guys would be bros in no time." He pointed at the screen. "Watch this for a sec. See, these two characters Ripjaw and Ellie hated each other!"

"Yeah, and?" 

"I remember this episode." Leo said fondly.

Donnie watched the television moodily. Two heroes in spacesuits seemed to be arguing about something.

"Stop following me, you fool! You're always getting in my way."

"So?" He said, hands on his hips. "That doesn't mean anything."

"Keep watching!" Mikey snapped, uncharacteristically harsh. "Look!"

"We have to put aside our differences!" Ellie yelled. "If we don't, the evil Slothman will kill our friends!"

"I'm not working with you!" Ripjaw sneered.

"Stop being selfish! Why do you even hate me so much?"

"Because...I love you."

"You...do?"

"More than anything."

"I love you too!"

Donnie made a face of pure horror as the character's embraced. "No. No way!"

Leo and Raph meanwhile seemed to find this extremely amusing.

"See what I mean?" Mikey pointed out, oblivious to the implications.

"Oh you bet we do." Raph sneered. "Can I plan the wedding?"

Leo batted his eyelashes. "I'll be the best man." He concluded.

"I'll be the Flower girl!" Mikey chimed in, eager to be included.

Donnie's cheeks turned beet red.

"Well I didn't mean you two kiss or anything." Mikey said sheepishly. "But you could totally be friends!"

Donnie shook his head furiously. "Over my dead body. I'd rather eat raw sewage than be friends with him. Let alone-" He blushed.

"Aw, love is still alive." Raph rested his head on his palms.

Donnie scowled.

Leo frowned. "Come on Don, you know we were only teasing."

"Whatever. This show is clearly for kids. I've got work to do."

The three remaining brothers looked at each other uneasily as they watched Donatello storm away to his lab.

"That ...didn't exactly go to plan." Mikey said nervously.

[roseyturtles]

more mikey angst yeehaw

welcome back to “oh lawd Rose is on their bullshit again” and this time I have writing done at 3am

So this requires a little bit of explaining. First, I’m using “Artist” as a nickname for 2018 Michelangelo and “Freckles” for 2012. Second, this is fast-paced. Almost uncomfortably so. You’ll have to suspend your disbelief enough to believe that talking to another version of yourself is more vulnerable than anyone else, and that all Mikeys are just that empathetic. Third: I’m not making excuses for wrongs on the part of 2012′s writers or characters, and I’m not leaving room for anyone else to do so either.

Tagging @brightlotusmoon in this as per usual because she’s my ultimate motivator in Mikey writing.

That being said, enjoy.

"Wait wait wait wait," the freckled turtle started, waving his hands in front of his face. "So. Your brothers DON'T smack you around when you're being obnoxious?"

"Wh--no?? What kind of brothers hit each other?!"

When Michelangelo---or, well, "Artist Mikey," as they would later clarify to try and discern between the two versions---first had this other version of himself arrive at his doorstep, he wasn't expecting this to become of it. The "rounder" turtle, a few inches taller and formed from a different base species entirely, but still very much a clone, had started out with bright smiles and a skateboard under his arm, ready to grind the sewer walls with his counterpart. And grind they did, both using their skills to perform impressive tricks around every bend and railing available, until they chose to mount on a surface rooftop for a breather. That's when real conversation started up, mostly about their common and different hobbies and the state of their worlds.

It was only when freckled Mikey mentioned off-the-cuff that he'd be smacked by Raphael for too many bad jokes that the artist realized that maybe they weren't so similar after all, and neither was their family.

"...uh. The normal kind?? What, are you guys all hugs and kisses?" Freckles asked, making a smooching gesture with his hands in a lightly mocking manner.

"Well, I mean, no," Artist started, "but like. Even when we get super mad at each other none of us get hit! And what do you mean by "annoying" anyways?"

Freckles seemed a little bit at a loss, brow furrowed and blinking. Whether that was out the same verbal processing disorder that Artist had or out of disbelief he wasn't sure. Eventually Freckles couldn't make eye contact, or even so much as look at Artist anymore, instead choosing to look away and scratch the back of his head, voice quieter when he spoke.

"Y'know," he tried to reconcile. "Stuff like…being too loud, or moving around too much, or talking about a video game all day."

Again Artist was horrified. That…was all normal stuff for him and his brothers both to do. Yeah, it was more him than them, but none of it was ever considered "annoying." None of it warranted violence. 

"I mean, I remember one time Leo chased me and hit me with a mop after I used his favorite comic as toilet paper, heheh. I was, uh, I was trying to snap him out of a weird mutant wasp trance after he got stung. Nnever--" Freckles suddenly went silent, and for a moment there was tension as he slowly pulled his knees up to his chest.

Then Artist spoke with rare but completely characteristic softness.

"Never thanked you for saving him?"

More silent tension as Freckles remained looking to the noisy city, trying to drown the storm inside his chest with other stimuli. Eventually, though, he 

nodded. Artist took a minute to process everything this implied. The fact that the major good thing Freckles did was overshadowed by the minor bad. The fact that a simple "thank you" or even an "I love you" was too much for that Leo's pride. The fact that nobody stood up for Freckles in that violence, and no one was going to, not without some sort of intervention.

…

Artist scooted a little closer to his counterpart and hugged his nearest arm. Freckles seemed shocked by the contact, and almost a tad uncomfortable, which made Artist's heart hurt more. Was he also never comforted in times of distress?

"I'm gonna be real honest here, Mike," Artist started, opting to use one of their assigned nicknames until they later figured out universal ones. "I don't think any of that's…good. I mean, bouncin' around and talking about stuff for hours is either teen stuff, ADHD, or both. For you to get smacked for doing normal stuff?..." He couldn't collect enough thought matter to say exactly what was wrong with it, but the heavy silence afterwards spoke volumes.

Freckles, too, remained silent after the speech. He had read about ADHD in one of Donnie's countless textbooks and found himself identifying with the symptoms, but never told anyone about it. He was already different from his brothers enough, why give it name and form that could be used as a stamp over his mouth? But something about hearing it from someone else, someone that didn't just know him but was him, made the concept somehow more real, like adjusting pronouns. And yet all of that was overshadowed in a split second by what exactly Artist was getting across. This…how his brothers treated him…wasn't normal. Wasn't okay, even. Another version of him, a fundamentally happier version, wasn't being hit and wasn't being called annoying and was being thanked by his brothers and wasn't trying desperately to appease them and was pursuing his hobbies fearlessly and---

Freckles looked at Artist with just the barest bit of hope.

"What's your dad like?"

"...Imperfect. He's got a lot of bad stuff in his past. But he loves us a lot, and he wants us to be us before we're ninjas. …and yours?"

A moment more of silence. Then, Freckles returned the hug, burying his face in Artist's shoulder. Artist couldn't begin to imagine what kind of a Splinter---of a dad---could normalize domestic violence and emotional frigidity. The best he could imagine was that their Splinter just wasn't there for them. The worst? That he was an active participant in this. Either way, his slowly wettening shoulder told the story loud and clear, and Artist's heart was squeezed by grief for his other.

His whole world, everything he thought he knew, had been shattered in an instant, leaving nothing but shards of rose-tinted glasses and ruinous truth.

It both crushed him and burned him alive to see this happening, and when Artist raised his head, his eyes were determined to set it right, and set it right together.

[crystalelemental]

FE Fates Replay - Part 5

I was having such a good time.  And then...

Chapter 9 starts out with Corrin returning successful from her mission to suppress the Ice Tribe’s rebellion.  Even Garon is impressed, and makes some hesitant comments about being proud of her.  Honestly, this is the Garon I want.  The one that’s slightly unhinged, but generally does care about the well-being of his children.  You know.  The one with any level of complexity at all.  For a moment all is well, until Iago decides to be the way that he is and announces that Corrin didn’t do it alone as commanded.  Xander’s response here is kinda funny.  “That’s really shitty, Iago, even for your slimy ass.”  Or something to that effect.  Anyway, Garon’s slightly miffed, but let’s it go because damn, she did a real good job on suppressing the rebellion without taking lives.  Again, the Garon with some level of complexity.  Instead of just murder man, he commends her specifically for not taking life in the suppression, which would be cool if that mentality of “not taking life in the conflict is a good thing.”  Shame about the way this game handles villains.

You’re immediately given another assignment: go to...uh...shit.  I can’t remember how to spell the place.  Basically, he wants you to go capture a territory.  Chapter 9 involves going through a fortress that’s the remains of a dragon, which is held by the Hoshidans.  This is a fairly fun chapter.  Not too difficult.  Mostly Effie and Silas carry the day.  You also recruit Azura and Nyx, making this the best recruitment chapter so far!  I really like both of them.  It’s a shame that Nyx is at level 9 when you get her.  Her stats are, uh...pretty terrible.  Okay, really terrible.  Skill, Luck, and Defense are all abysmal, with Magic and Speed being her only worthwhile stats.  They wouldn’t be as bad if she showed up a few levels lower, but at level 9, a lot of her stat spread is unsalvageable without stat boosting items.  Which means if you’re gonna use her, you have to invest.  And I absolutely intend to use her.

The map is your standard Seize map, after clearing everyone out, so not much to report on in terms of combat.  After the fight, Azura explains that she’s stuck here because the Hoshidans, wary after Corrin’s decision, turned on her too and had her locked up here.  So I guess that proves I made the right call.  So much for family, am I right?  Fuck Hoshido.  Azura instantly joins up with you, since she’s got nowhere else to go.  As for Nyx, just to give a bit of info on her, she’s apparently a really old magic user who, for reasons unknown, is in the body of a child.  Honestly, if it weren’t for her outfit, she’d be perfect.  She’s sassy and fun, and admittedly I like her hair.

Chapter 10 has the group arrive in some port town looking for passage to this territory they’re to take.  At first, it’s assumed this port will be safe, but unfortunately for them, it’s now crawling with Hoshidans.  Fortunately for me, Takumi is leading the charge, meaning it’s finally time to kick his ass.  He goes on about Corrin being a traitor and all that, but what’s interesting is he mentions that some Hoshidans took Azura away, and that Ryoma was worried about her.  He wasn’t, obviously, but what’s neat to me is that the eneimes from last chapter were apparently in active defiance of Ryoma, who is essentially their king now that the old queen is dead.  At the very least, the Hoshidans are very disorganized.  So that’s funny.  Good job, idiots.

Honestly?  This is my favorite chapter so far.  I mentioned last time, I think, but while the developers of this game were insistent that Awakening’s weak point was its story (don’t ask how one can be so out of touch, I don’t know either), its actual weak point is mostly its maps.  It’s been a while since I’ve fully played Awakening, but I remember about 90% of it being “route the enemy,” with very little else aside from standard Seize and Defeat the Boss.  There aren’t too many weird conditions or gimmicks.  Fates, at least on the Conquest route, has given some more interesting stuff.  This one in particular is really fun.  You’re defending the territory, so you have four squares at the far north of the map, where your units start, that the enemy can’t reach.  If they do, you lose.  To help out, you get a bunch of ranged weapons near your position to help weaken, but not KO, foes.  There are also a lot of homes around the area that you can access to get some items.  Naturally, as with any defending map, there are tons of reinforcements.  What really makes the map interesting to me is that, so far, we’ve been using a lot of Dragon Veins.  Allegedly.  I don’t use them that often.  They’re not always as helpful as they think.  But in this map, Takumi activates one, and dries up all the water, allowing the enemies to traverse around the paths you’ve been defending.  It’s incredibly frustrating, but a neat surprise that the map pulls to make your attempts at defense even harder.  I know for me, I had spread out my units by this point.  We’d managed to put a dent in their forces and were alerting the houses and trying to push south.  But as soon as that happened, a bunch of reinforcements came in.  The only one who could continue to move forward was Dragon Corrin.  Everyone else had to start back-tracking to defend.

Chapter 10 also introduces three new units to our party.  In order of least to greatest importance, we first have Beruka, one of Camilla’s retainers.  She’s quiet and doesn’t talk much, but honestly was pretty funny in her debut.  Selena, or Severa for those of us who played Awakening, is the same as she ever was, so you kind of expect her to tease Corrin about being heartless for not remembering them, but Beruka joining in was pretty good.  Speaking of, Selena’s the other character who joins, and just like as Severa, she’s a lot of fun.  She’s a bit more mellow here, if only slightly.  A little more in tune with herself, perhaps?  Then we have Camilla.  She arrives, and is surprisingly intense about murdering dudes.  Almost a bit Faye-like, only instead of the love of Alm, it’s for the love of her sister.  It’s a bit disconcerting, frankly.  I go back and forth on really liking Camilla and really disliking her.  They just go a bit too heavy on some of her more intense traits, you know?

The map is pretty tough, but Corrin and Azura wound up kicking Takumi’s ass no sweat.  In fact, I first had Corrin do it, and then with save states thanks to Casual, went back and had Azura finish him instead.  Both of their dialogue reveals about what you’d expect.  Takumi’s just a butthurt baby.  After you win, he whines about Corrin’s betrayal again, and then gets a migraine or something and fucks off.  This is one of those “Camilla is great” moments, because as Takumi is throwing insults as Corrin, Camilla just goes “What a rude boy.  Perhaps I should beat some manners into him...”  Corrin stops her and says no violence, but we really should’ve allowed it.  Takumi mentions the Rainbow Sage, which is apparently our objective that I don’t think anyone has mentioned until now.  He says Ryoma got the blessing so it’s all over for you fuckers now.  Camilla lets us know that it’s fine, Xander also got the blessing ages ago, so the Hoshidans are really just one step behind.  Though depending on time frame of Xander getting this blessing, this would mean that Ryoma could potentially be considered stronger, based on them being “even” in Chapter 6.  Though in fairness, my run involved Xander immediately getting a crit and taking Ryoma out in one shot.  So that was fucking hilarious.

Chapter 11, we finally arrive in this territory.  We meet a nice lady who tells us about the dangers of the mountain the sage lives on, and that he’s been taken captive by the Hoshidans.  Corrin naturally hurries to his rescue, and the fight is on!  This time, it’s against Hinoka.  The map itself is alright?  It kinda forces you to take two separate paths and gets a little cluttered, but not too bad.  Azama is, without question the worst part of this map.  Staves don’t count as a weapon, so his special ability means you continuously take counter damage equal to what you deal to him, and he has some bullshit Hexlock Staff that cuts the HP of anyone hit by it to half for the remainder of the map.  It’s such garbage.  Thankfully, Jakob is very fast, so haha, idiot.  I did get special dialogue with Hinoka, though.  Camilla is just...so incredibly petty here.  “She’s my sister now, you lose, bitch.”  The amount of pettiness on display is unreal.  Corrin, by comparison, actually has a pretty touching conversation.  Hinoka seems to understand Corrin’s resolve, and doesn’t really pressure her the way the others did.  She’s not happy with Corrin’s decision at all, but ultimately accepts Corrin’s decision and lives with it.  This automatically makes Hinoka the best Hoshidan sibling in my book.  I don’t regret siding against the others, but I do regret siding against her.

After the battle, Hinoka recognizes they need to retreat, and makes a comment about gathering their dead later.  She is then informed that there are no dead, only wounded.  Corrin gave the command to not kill anyone in this fight, and announces that she wants to end the war peacefully, without bloodshed if possible.  Hinoka is taken aback, but flees quickly after.  Kaze, however, remains behind to speak with Corrin.  He’s impressed by her devotion to peace, and pledges loyalty to her.  Another new ally!  And a ninja at that!

We meet the Rainbow Sage, who activates something with Yato.  He tells us to seek out the Nohrians who will activate the blade’s true power and awaken it as Grim Yato, the ultimate blade of darkness or whatever!  Given that we already have two Nohrian siblings, I wonder who the two we need could be.  Honestly, I’ve been holding on to this complaint, but now’s a good time: it’s bullshit that the female siblings don’t get unique weapons.  Xander and Leo get unique, powerful weapons, as do Ryoma and Takumi.  But the sisters?  They have to make do with generic weapons.  That’s such utter horseshit, and frankly, kinda sexist.

Immediately after this, Iago shows up and again, decides to be the way he is.  Garon gave a command to kill the sage.  Corrin outright refuses, stating the obvious: Ryoma already got the power, we’re not preventing anyone important from getting it because everyone already has said blessing, you’re doing this for nothing.  The Rainbow Sage thanks Corrin for wanting to spare his life, but proclaims it was time for him to die anyway and just dies out on the spot.  So I guess Mission Successful?  Weird.

I was gonna cut here, as the natural end to a particular thread of the game, but I’m kinda having fun, so let’s keep going.  Chapter 12!  Elise takes ill from a weird virus thing in that territory, and we need to find help!  Garon gives another command, specifically, to go to this one place for rest and relaxation.  Oddly kind.  It also turns out this place is the medical hub of the world, so suspiciously fortuitous.  They group hurries there and fucking surprise, there are Hoshidans everywhere.  Led by Ryoma.  Amazing.  Corrin begs him to let her pass, telling him about Elise’s condition.  He offers the trade: Corrin comes with him, and they’ll let her pass without a fight.  Corrin, of course, refuses.  As she should.  Listen, I get that it’s war, but by now they know what Corrin’s about.  She’s aimed to prevent the death of their soldiers in every battle.  They know she’s shown mercy where protecting life is concerned.  So what does Ryoma do?  Insist on fighting, potentially allowing Elise to die.  Bastard.

Thankfully we get reinforcements in the nick of time, in the form of-oh fuck me.  Laslow, listen.  You’re cool.  I’m glad you’re here.  I liked Inigo too.  But Peri.  Motherfucking Peri.  She is the worst character in the entire series for me.  There’s no question.  Not even a close second.  Even Tharja doesn’t come close, because some of Tharja’s supports were at least endearing in some way.  Peri is just a little sociopath who can’t shut the fuck up about murder.  Xander, where the fuck did you find her, and why is she not in jail?  I honestly feel it’s hypocritical to complain about Hans when you hired Peri on purpose, you asshat.  Honestly, for your belief in doing right by people and wanting to protect others, I cannot believe you thought putting Peri in charge of anything was a good call.  This is actively a blemish on your record.

Fuck, I can’t do this now.  I can’t deal with Peri.  We were having such a good day, then this little freak-ass gremlin shows up and prattles on about stabface of whatever the fuck, and now I’m just angry.  I’ll deal with her later.

[the-evolving-falcon]

PLOTTING CHEAT-SHEET

Want new-and-exciting plots for your character? Long to reach out to more of your followers, but don’t know where to start? Fear not! Fill out this form and give your RP partners both present and future all the of juicy jumping off points they need to help you get your characters acquainted.

Be sure to tag the players whose characters YOU want more cues to interact with, and repost, don’t reblog! Feel free to add or remove sections as you see fit.Template here.

Mun name: Elly, though I don’t identify that strongly with this nickname, meaning I am always open to suggestions on what’d you’d rather call me lol

OOC Contact: IM on any of my blogs, Skype, potentially Discord

Who the heck is my muse anyway:

Shun Kurosaki ~ The sole survivor of the Heartland invasion still opposing Academia and Akaba Leo; a war hardened soldier driven by his determination and deep hatred alone after losing everything he held dear.  Forced into a set of circumstances detrimental to his nature of a far-sighted strategist, he had no choice but adapt by pursuing one suboptimal solution after another, a fact he is painfully aware of, but with no time to prepare, no reliable access to information, and almost no resources at his hand, he rather quickly recognized the act of sticking to one elaborate strategy to be a futile endeavor posing a risk to his survival on top of it.  Having traveled to Standard to continue his onslaught, he has formed an alliance with Akaba Reiji, ultimately becoming his right-hand man and equal in rank.

Ruri Kurosaki~ One of the four girls representing the will of Nature itself, thus becoming Akaba Leo’s target as her existence and the workings of her bracelet prevent the four dimensions from merging. After the invasion of her home, she, too, picked up arms and fought, though her personal rebellion was cut short by Akaba Leo’s most trusted agent capturing her after having been enabled to do so by a spy infiltrating the Resistance’s ranks and getting close to Ruri. From the very first day of her captivity, she’s been plotting to break free lowering the guard of Akaba Leo and her watchdogs in an elaborate scheme ultimately failing as a result of an unlucky coincidence alone. Upon being freed by Shun, she’s been working towards the improvement of Leo Corp.’s image and public relations.

Serena~ Another of Nature’s four girls, born in the Fusion Dimension and raised as an Academia warrior, but never deployed to an actual battlefield due to her role in Akaba Leo’s plans, a weapon gone berserk as a result of disuse and a lack of guidance. In an act of rebellion, she escaped to Standard, aiming to prove her worth by slaying the final Xyz survivor. Having learned about Academia’s true colors from Yuzu Hiiragi, Shun Kurosaki, and Reiji Akaba, she changed loyalties and became a Lancer. Her flawed perception of her surroundings and herself brought upon by years of being exposed to Academia’s propaganda, however, are causing her to still strive for the idealized image of a proud and honorable Academia warrior without her being aware of it, making her particularly susceptible to manipulation and deceit.

Points of interest:

Shun Kurosaki

Highly intelligent

Cynical misanthrope and pessimist-realist

An interior almost equally harsh and cold as his exterior

Worst Civilian your muse will probably meet

Skilled at making delicious meals from scraps

Exhibits an adorable blinking tic when perplexed and/or flustered

His ‘Nii-san game’ is incredibly strong, though your muse’ll have to first get on his good side for him to treat them as an older sibling would - a task about as difficult as to move a mountain

Ruri Kurosaki

Manipulative and cunning

Sharpened silver tongue

Deep love for myths and tales

Tends to conceal her true self behind a variety of masks, only removing them once a strong bond has been formed

Her interior is colder than what some of her masks suggest

Carries a crushing amount of guilt within her

Desires to temporarily escape the harsh reality without denying it

Serena

Child soldier desperate to prove her worth on the battlefield

Severe lack of social skills

Easily angered

Likes to see herself as an independent thinker when she’s anything but

Prone to idealization and oversimplification

Stubborn and strong willed; capable duelist

Unconsciously seeking to be guided by someone making use of her skills in an effective fashion

What they’ve been up to recently:

Shun Kurosaki

Preparing for the impending war with Fusion alongside Akaba Reiji and working towards his goal of freeing Ruri

Gradually reconnecting with his nature of a thorough planner, becoming slightly less pessimistic in the process

Dating Akaba Reiji

Semi-grudgingly putting up with his boyfriend attempting to teach him the ways of a civilian

Freeing Ruri

Ruri Kurosaki

Working towards her escape

Gently bullying Reiji into liking her

Contributing to Standard’s war effort by strengthening Leo Corp.’s public image

Gradually developing a crush on Fuuma Tsukikage

Serena

Running into high-ranking Academia soldiers

Trying to respond to Yuzu’s attempts at improving her social skills

Getting used to the life of a civilian

Throwing around baseless accusations

Where to find them:

Shun Kurosaki

Ruins of Heartland

LDS

Darker alleys of Maiami City

Potentially Synchro

Ruri Kurosaki

Ruins of Heartland

Academia quarters serving as her first ‘Golden Cage’ prior to her complete isolation in the Western Tower

LDS

Potentially Synchro

Serena

Academia quarters serving as her ‘Golden Cage’

Rest of Academia’s grounds, together with her watchdogs 

LDS

Potentially Synchro

Current plans:

Shun Kurosaki

Training an improved second generation of Lancers, as well as Standard’s general army

Learning the truth about Akaba Leo’s plans, as well as his sister’s and best friend’s role in it

Planning Standard’s assault on Fusion alongside Reiji

Ruri Kurosaki

Recovering from the aftereffects of months of solitary confinement and complete isolation

Supporting Shun and Reiji in their plans

Contributing to Standard’s war effort

Serena

Honing her combat skills

Fighting on a real battlefield

Finding meaning in her newly-acquired freedom

Desired interactions:

Shun Kurosaki

Non-familial sibling interactions with the bracelet girls other than Ruri, Masumi, and maaaybe one of the Fuuma ninjas or Reira

Reluctant allies (potentially developing into something genuine)

Mentor-disciple bonds

Coincidental encounters

Ruri Kurosaki

Romantic relationships

Platonic relationships

Reluctant allies

Enemy interactions

Serena

Romantic relationships - particularly of an unhealthy nature

Platonic relationships

Allies

Manipulator - manipulated interactions

Offered interactions:

Shun Kurosaki

If your bracelet girl character plays her cards right, she can gently bully Shun into liking and accepting her as his younger sister

As the one responsible for forging Standard’s inhabitants into capable soldiers, Shun can supervise your character’s training

Academia characters can be captured and interrogated by him, with the possibility of a memory wipe turning them into a soldier fighting for Standard’s cause

Various AU scenarios

Ruri Kurosaki

Fighting alongside Ruri in the Heartland war

Ruri can be visited in her imprisonment and either taunted, befriended or, under very specific circumstances, freed

In Standard, Ruri can be accompanied to or encountered at various social gatherings hosted by important people

Interactions with brainwashed!Ruri (with the brainwashing being far more thorough and permanent, and a direct modification of her memories, rather than the result of a parasite controlling her)

Various AU scenarios

Serena

Interactions with the purpose of either convincing her of Academia’s true colors or making her become loyal to the Professor again

Helping her see through her flawed thought patterns or shamelessly exploiting them to your character’s advantage

Visiting her in her ‘Golden Cage’

Interactions between fellow Lancers

Gaining her trust and loyalty by effectively using her skills

Various AU scenarios

Current open post/s:

None at the moment. May make one or more upon request.

Anything else?:

I strongly dislike what has become of Arc-V after season one, meaning my muses’ characterization and backstory is almost solely based on season one as well, and I’d like for my RP partners to play along with my alternate worldbuilding and timeline created for a war story, rather than a Sakaki worshipping fest.

All of my muses are free of the egao-plague, and my Kurosaki muses in particular are completely immune to childish ideals and oversimplification, none of which will work to resolve their personal issues.

Shun is season one Reiji’s equal in every way and war veteran on top of it, so I ask you, the other mun, to treat him accordingly.  

Zarc and Ray don’t exist in my muses’ verses, meaning if you RP as one of them, careful plotting and lots of tweaking will be required to make a particular thread idea work.

Threads with a combination of my muses are perfectly possible, just ask :)

Tagged by: @kitameguire

Tagging: @tsukikagc, @kansuigyo, @ardaemon, @piiante

[midnightroseprincess]

Your fandom is... TMNT! :D

Woot woot! A peep has sent me what was probs my first and most enduring fandom. Answers down below.

Be warned that though I’ve read so many of the comics and seen a lot of all the different incarnations, a lot of these answers are gonna be answered with examples from the 2003 series, the 1990 movies, the classic comics, and the IDW comics, since those are the ones I grew up with (and thus more attached to) and in the comics’ cases, more familiar with/knowledgable of.

Also please forgive any typos.

Give me a fandom and I’ll tell you…

Favorite Male Character

Leonardo Hamato has been and always will be my favorite. Even when I was little, I could sympathize with Leo because we both had fears of failing and were burdened by the pressure to be perfect. Seeing Leo overcome these things inspired me to stick it out and overcome them to an extent, too. 

He’s also just such a good character. An encouraging older brother who would do anything (within reason and his principles) to protect and guide his family. A level-headed and strategic leader who is one of the best ninja of his generation. A humble, honorable warrior who gives opportunities to former enemies to redeem themselves and get out of abusive situations. A dork who can drop his serious brooding to goof off with his brothers and friends. His benign, deadpan sense of humor. His so-proud-of-you-even-if-you-worried-me-into-frustration pride in his little brothers. His trust in April and Usagi to the point that he allows himself to be vulnerable around them. On that note, his moments of weakness that are so realistic. He’s such a multi-layered, engaging character and I adore him. 

Also his character development helped me grow as a person… more details on that below, under Saddest Moment. 

I’ll add that my favorite version of him is the 2k3 version. 

Favorite Female Character

April O’Neil, no contest. April is a freaking delight. A professional technological programmer and hacker with knowledge of antiquities to boot. No matter what incarnation of her you pick, she’s such a likeable, reassuring presence in the TMNT universe. She grounds the turtles in a reality they were previously alienated from (aka the human world). She’s their family, and has fought tooth and nail for them (15/10 would do it again). 

I adore her relationship with the Hamato Clan. She’s this mature presence that can sit with Splinter and just say “Kids” together with him at the turtles’ antics. She’s this bird of a feather with Donatello, who has an equal in intelligence to talk to and work with. She’s this amazing older sister to Michelangelo, who answers all his questions on the human world and doesn’t expect him to keep optimistic all the time. She’s this amazing confidant to Leonardo, who can’t pull the big-brother-card on her and is so thankful that he can’t because it means he can talk to her about anything. She’s this strange mix of sister and mother to Raphael because she doesn’t shy away from his struggles with his inner demons and helps him through them. Her romance with Casey, though different in every incarnation, manages to be heartwarming and hilarious.

My favorite version of her is also from the 2k3 series, since it let her keep her technology skills. IDW April is super precious though. 

Least Favorite Character

Hm… Hard to say. The villains and secondary characters come and go, and even the most annoying villains can have a really good, terrifying episode or comic issue dedicated to them. 

All that comes to my mind are the Ninja Tribunal (who were freaking jerks) or Cousin Sid from the 2k3 series and Walker from the third live-action movie. When I think of the comic characters, all the villains and secondary characters had pretty amazing arcs at one point, so I’m cool with them. 

Favorite Ship

Capril (April O’Neil/Casey Jones) in any incarnation, pretty much. As for the others… I’d say I lowkey ship Raphael/Mona Lisa. Leonardo and Usagi go back and forth between a brotp and an otp for me. 

The love interests from the comics, I’m neutral on, because the classic TMNT writers weren’t actually all that interested in exploring the turtles’ sexuality and romance. The only one I can think of is Radical (Leo’s love interest) and her characterization was… slightly problematic. In the IDW series, they have a character named Alopex and I do like the ship tease between her and Raphael, but I’m waiting to see where it goes. 

Leorai (Leonardo/Karai) is the classic, star-crossed ship, considering one is the dutiful son of Splinter and the other is the daughter of The Shredder. I did ship them when I was growing up with the 2k3 series, but then, well, Karai tried to kill Leonardo’s entire family while he was out of the country and very nearly succeeded and destroyed their home. Talk about a ship sinker. She eventually sort of redeemed herself at the end of 2k3 but like had a romance going with Chaplin, a scientist of hers. So… I don’t know where I stand on it right now. On one hand, their dynamic is still incredibly interesting and on the other, a situation where they’d work in a healthy way would have to be an AU or the like. So I’m neutral on it a majority of the time.   

Favorite Friendship

Gosh, any of the turtles’ friendships with April, as detailed above. Otherwise, any of the kindred-spirit friendships the turtles make are all equal in my eyes. Mikey with Leatherhead, Donatello with Professor Honeycutt, Leonardo with Usagi, or Raphael with Casey. All are amazing. 

Favorite Quote

“In this life, we only have each other. If one of us goes down, we all go down. So focus.” – Leonardo. It sums up their family extremely well. 

Worst Character Death (if any)

Oh man.

SAINW. Same As It Never Was. From the 2k3 series. Just… SAINW. Everyone except April died or is presumed dead in that alternate universe by the end of that episode. On a minor note, Nano. Both times. Poor robot baby.

From the classic comics, Splinter’s death is up there, along with the death of Klunk, Mikey’s pet cat.

From the IDW series, the turtles’ death in their previous (human) lives – getting executed via beheading by The Shredder in front of Splinter (Yoshi Hamato). 

This made me so happy you have no idea Moment

The moment in the 2k3 series in Return to New York Part 1, where Donnie can’t hack into the Foot Clan’s HQ because Baxter Stockman designed the security and April just: “Too bad you don’t know anybody who used to work for Stockman,“ with that raised eyebrow of hers. Donnie just smiles back and allows her the chair to sit at the computer, she cracks her knuckles, and then hacks it in under 5 minutes. Not many of the Aprils get to keep her classic comic-self’s computer skills and that moment was SO. GOOD. The turtles even mention in following ‘previously-on’ segments that they’d have never been able to get through the building without April’s skills.

Any time Mikey shows he’s not JUST the goof but is actually the MOST interpersonally AWARE and INSIGHTFUL of all of them. An example from the 2k3 series in which he sticks up for Leo: “I think all of you should just lay off the poor guy. I mean, it can’t be fun, being the responsible one. And we’re the ones who really benefit. Raph’s free not to think ‘cause Leo does all the thinking for him. Don’s free to dream, and I’m free to take it easy, all because Leo’s busy being responsible enough for all of us.” 

The moment in the 1990 live action movie where Mikey and April team up to take down a Foot Clan ninja and it’s cemented that she’s family to the turtles. “You’re a natural, Sis!” “Thanks.” Also the turtles reactions post-battle to the Big Damn Kiss between April and Casey in the same movie. “All right April!” (Raph) / “All right Casey!” (Mikey) / “9.95!” (Donnie) / “Yeah, that’s the way to go!” (Leo). The turtles ship them so hard, you guys. 

Saddest Moment

Gosh… from the 2k3 series… the moment during his solo training where Leonardo just breaks down from the aftermath of the Exodus episodes. “I’m sorry. I’m… I - I did the best I could. I DID THE BEST I COULD! There wasn’t any more I could have done!!” and the Ancient One asks, “Then why do you blame yourself so?” And it… clicks for Leo. And at that same moment, it clicked for me too. And I started to work to get healthier coping methods for my own anxiety. Sometimes you have to realize how low you are to start building yourself up. I learned that as Leo did. It’s weird how the timing ended up working but… it did. 

In the classic comics when Raphael is turned into a normal turtle and just… everyone’s reactions to it. Especially when they go off to battle and hopefully find a way to return Raph to normal and he can’t go with them. 

In the IDW comics when the turtles realize that not only was Casey (who they’ve recently taken in out of an abusive home) nearly killed by a gunshot at the ambush at the docks, but that in the commotion of escaping, Leo was captured by their worst enemies. 

Favorite Location

Tough one. I love their second lair in the 2k3 series that has the cool cone shaped interior with cool tech makin it up that leads to the garage upstairs. They have purified water along with a working plumbing system, a sweet television set-up, enough room for everyone to live and hone their skills… it’s one of the sweeter set-ups for a layer they’ve ever had in any incarnation, which is why it was such a shame to see it destroyed. The following Reservoir Station Lair was okay but not as cool. 

That said, I still really love the underground, abandoned, and antique subway station from the second live-action movies. I adore the idea of Splinter taking the ticket station as his room and the turtles picking from the carriages. I imagine that that center carriage car is like a guest-room/sitting-room for their human peeps but the other cars are like walking into a different world based on which turtle’s room it is. The stain glass windows and antique tech lying around, the cool stairway…. the place, once free of cobwebs, is an awesome lair. 

This got REALLY long, whoops. Kind of to be expected though given how many versions of the TMNT there are. Thankies for sending it though.