#tmnt mikey reminds me to be optimistic

[brightlotusmoon]

That half-full/half-empty glass needs to be fully full so I can take my medications.

[whyamiheretumbled]

TMNT Smarts(Spoilers for IDW!)

@smudged-kaleidoscopeThis part will be about TMNT and how the fandom and creators view their smarts! And how it can be extremely weird..

Everyone assumes that Raph is genuinely too rash and reckless to make good decisions.now,Raph is reckless and easily stressed(even in 1987 or Rise), but that doesent mean he's stupid compared to Leo, which a lot of ppl *seem* to think

Raph is protective of his brothers, and is constantly shown that they shouldn't follow his behaviour(Seen when Leo allows Karai to enter the Turtle's car in 2012,the Pizza Puffs ep of 2018,or even in 2003,City at War!)

While he IS reckless, it seems he really wants his brothers to just stay on the damn task and get the job done. Not to mention, he tries to keep them safe. While he can be irrational, that doesent mean he wants to watch them follow his behaviour(2003 Raph says, "I hate when Leo starts reminding me of myself",not a direct quote)

Raph's smarts are less analytical focused and way more SURVIVAL focused, which actually brings us to Mikey <3

First of all, Mikey has never been a baby. In mirage, his anger and violence actually rivaled Raph's,Dr.Feelings and Delicate Touch both exist, in 2012 Mikey straight up punched someone hard enough to break their nose, hell, he threw a couch out of a window.

Mikey is constantly underestimated due to his baby face, gullible tendecies, empathy, etc, bcuz adding on to being genuinely the youngest, he is ALSO the most optimistic out of his brothers, and the one who understands emotions the best

Mikey is typically street smarts, or emotional smarts, seen in Mutant Mayhem with his Improv Club, or seen in 2003 where he instantly gets along with kids, or 2012 and the whole Acne episode

Mikey isn't stupid by any means. Sure, he may not pay attention or have a difficult time understanding stuff, but even in Bayverse he's shown to have smart moments. Unfortunately,due to his silly persona,he is constantly downplayed(Though The Last Ronin shows what happens when Mikey needs to focus because he's lost everything)

If Mikey had more motivation, say for example, being tricked into sex and having babies(mirage),he would probably try to be way smarter. But either way, it's constantly shown he picks things up easily and can think quickly! 2012 and Rise are both great examples <3,as well as moments in 2003

Now, we all know Donnie is smart. That's his big thing, his smarts. But he's his own special kind. He uses his own pros to his advantage, and while this can also slow him down due to not wanting to change his ways, this can also help him!

Seen in IDW, Donnie uses his flaw of ignoring Leo's orders and his pros of his tech to trick the Shredder, I won't go in full detail, but it comes at a price.

Anyways, Donnie is shown to havequick thinking at least, when he can anyalze a situation. He is actually VERY reckless, seen in 2003 building missiles into his car, or 2012 going on a killing rampage.

When he can't anyalze something, he jumps into it.Unlike Mikey, he lacks the ability to quickly access a situation, but he gains the abilities unlike his brothers to quickly map out a plan using logic,common sense, and his brain

Now Donnie had his dumb moments, because he DOESENT WANT TO ACCEPT THAT OTHER PEOPLE CAN BE RIGHT. you may think no, he wants to listen to others, but being so smart he sometimes thinks he's better than other people and superior,shown in multiple iterations, highlighting Rise, 2012,1987,and IDW.

Donnie's smarts run way deeper than knowing mathematics and engineering and etc, they stem into being able to study a problem and find out an efficent way to solve if, unfortunately,he doesent always want to realise he's allowed to need or want second opinions...

Leo's will be very short. He is a analytical and strategic thinker. He maps out plans, focuses on the battlefield, uses people like chess peices, highlighting in 2012 and Rise. I'll go deeper another day(that's what she said)

AHEM. Now, people constantly assume because Leo's brothers aren't the same type of thinker he is,that they're not smart. They're easily stubborn, can be tricked, not fully access a situation, doubt themselves, etc...

But Leo struggles with many of these things, the narrative is just pushed to make it seem like he's always in the right, however, he does almost always go through character development(at the cost of his childhood)

Leo is can be emotionally stunted, act manipulative(seen in 2003),jist be plain rude(2012),because he's leader/strategic,and wonders why no one would listen to him.

If he allowed his brothers to have input,it would be beneficial for the four of them, as they all contain qualities needed to make good plans.,and are all smart,and while I hate this saying, they're smart in their own way.

Mikey can answer philosophical questions, he doesent have the general care for others or his own regard like Raph generally does, Raph has survival skills but doesent know when to be calm, etc etc

[cartoonemotion]

im not rlly sure what fandoms ur into these days ^^;; but . mikey from tmnt ?

i was just reminiscing on how much i miss rottmnt yesterday !!

a song that reminds me of them: bit of a cheat cuz i dont think all the lyrics match up but i think this is a song he'd listen to

what they smell like: oh my g0d. im sorry i love him but a turtle who lives in a sewer ? its probably not great

an otp: none really !!

a notp: aside from the obvious gross stuff none here either

favorite platonic/familial relationships: mikey loves all his siblings equally of course but i love how close he is with leo in the show its so cute... theyre such a fun duo and play off each other really well its always a joy to watch

a headcanon that is popular in the fandom but that i disagree with: uhh this is less of a headcanon and more of a pet peeve but people thinking since mikey's the youngest sibling and also the most optimistic and overtly friendly he like... needs to be babied... you know just that typical fanon thing where you erase all nuance from the character. hate that

the position they sleep in: it would be cute if he slept in his shell but i dont think he does. so in the complete opposite direction i think he sleeps all flat on his back like he died

a crossover au i’d love to see them in: im a pretty big stickler for aus honestly i know the ducktales universe wouldnt really make sense but. listen. it would be cute. theyre little ducks he would love that

my favorite outfit they’ve ever worn: i know theres a lot of actually good outfits in the show but i dont wanna talk about that. i wanna talk about his stupid wrestling costume

[divine-motion]

don’t fucking interact if you ship t/cest and minor/adult ships

more shitty phone photos of sketchbook sketches for my tmnt fan incarnation/tmnt 2012 rewrite bc i have no shame and i’m having fun with it! pictures should have captions since i spent time writing them out, but tumblr might mess it up, so in case captions doesn’t work: 1. left to right: leo, donatello up, raphael down, michelangelo 2. Casey Jones up top, April O’Neil to the right, donatello in the middle and karai at the bottom 3. casey and don again, raphael to the left, mikey at the bottom just bc i liked how their their expressions turned out and didn’t want a bunch of negative space so don and case appear again 4. size chart featuring turtles. left to right: leo, don, mikey, raph 5. sketchy Slash design. big boy.

general thoughts character stuff below the Keep Reading. A Lot of rambling below so beware!!

April: 15 years old, trans and bi. local fifteen year old telepath finds out that not everyone is able to feel what other people are feeling, something she’s been able to do since she was six after she played in that one weirdly glowy puddle (early Kraang mutagen attempt that only managed to mutate April in the sense that it gave her telepathy, was originally intended to make humans become part of the Kraang hivemind). she’s largely unfazed by the existence of mutants and aliens, taking it in stride, and finds out about the Kraang - and meets the turtles - while snooping around TCRI business (aspiring journalist that she is) and accidentally witnessing the mutation of Snakeweed. her telepathy, which later as she grows in power alongside the turtles extends to telekinesis and basically possession, is very useful whenever she gets into a scrap since she can predict what moves her opponent will make, thus letting her dodge their blows effectively. personality wise she is a very determined and driven young girl, incredibly curious (and cannot mind her own business, she wants to know all the drama while not having to be part of it... which makes her very fortunate to be a telepath. listen she’s 15 she’s allowed to misuse her powers a little bit. as a treat.), playful, and cheerful, and she’s an extroverted autistic. in her spare time between her studies, she likes to play bass, sing, read, and write. that, and investigating whatever shady business is going on in town, and she makes it very clear to the turtles that even if they weren’t going to deal with the Kraang, she’d continue to try to stop them herself. she would like to not live under the threat of her or her loved ones getting mutated, thank you very much! and, you know, it’s kind of exciting. kind of.

i know it’s bc i have brain issues when it comes to parent figures but i am very much leaning towards Splinter not being... a good dad. i don’t think 2012 Splinter is a good dad anyways but i’d probably amp it up, make him a mix of 2012 and idw probably. i’m still mulling it over but like, remember in the season 1 finale when leo is watching his show and thinks the captain guy making a totally unnecessary sacrifice is a heroic move, and then Splinter tells leo (his fifteen year old child) that leo should know what or who to sacrifice, more or less telling him to sacrifice his brothers’ lives, potentially?? i know there was a lot at stake but hello??? i remember watching it and being like me: ah i see, this is showing that splinter is wrong and there is no need for any sacrifices as seen in the show when the captain Goes Down With His Ship for no reason other than just sacrificing himself, and leo will see that- leo: *tries to sacrifice himself twice in the finale, both times being kind of unnecessary/seemed like if he had just hurried or done something slightly different there would be no need to stay behind, and he gets out fine with no consequences, seemingly no injuries, and does Not learn anything, his brothers don’t even get sad when they think he died or get mad at him for pulling such a dumb move) me: surprised_pikachu.jpeg

like that moment haunts me. has any other splinter told their sons to sacrifice himself or his brothers? has any other splinter put that on them??? idw doesn’t count if he has bc he’s more explicitly supposed to be bad so???

sometimes writers think they’ve made an uncle iroh but they really, really, really haven’t. also his backstory is the same as in the show

anyways. Donatello: 15 years old, bog turtle, nonbinary (he/they, doesn’t mind being called brother but doesn’t like to be called “boy” or “girl” or whatever), bi. he isn’t in love with April. no creepy incel shit here. donnie is instead more like a mix between his Rise and 2003 self. he has trouble expressing himself and is pretty introverted, but he is very altruistic, kind, and compassionate. a lot of his inventions are made to help people and he was driven to learn about science and engineering because he wants to find a way to reverse splinter’s mutation, to give splinter his life and humanity back. he feels like he needs to know if splinter would just abandon them if he wasn’t a huge rat man, needs to know if there’s any part of splinter that blames them for being constant reminders of his mutation. other than that, he also likes to make inventions because he’s a dreamer and wants to experiment to see how much of the unknown he can push beyond. also, the best liar out of the turtles. also fairly good at compromising and prefers to solve conflicts without violence he can get a little... “obnoxious 15 year old genius” at times. even when he’s helpful it can come off as a bit “poor dear isn’t as smart as me”, and while he usually gets along well with Raph, he doesn’t handle Raph’s temper well at all (calls him “Wrathael/Wrath” and thinks he’s being super clever) and gets really dismissive of Raph’s “outbursts”.

Michelangelo: 13 years old, diamondback terrapin, unsure about the gender and sexuality thing but he doesn’t think he’s exactly cis and definitely not straight. a bouncy ball of sunshine and surprising emotional maturity and emotional intelligence! more so than his emotionally constipated brothers, at least. it’s on his thirteenth birthday (it was leo’s idea for them to pick dates that would let them have their own birthdays instead of sharing the “Mutation Day”, Mutation Day being another special “holiday”) that the Plot would be set in motion, as he’s finally allowed to go to the surface same as his brothers, and on this first night out they meet April and the Kraang and other mutants. he is a goof still, but he’s capable in his own right and gets frustrated when people treat him like a baby or an idiot because he’s not. he doesn’t always treat everything with the seriousness it should but like. he’s thirteen, he’s having fun. even so, he’s very insistent of taking responsibility whenever he does do something wrong and gets mad if someone tries to take the blame for something he’s done. definitely the most compassionate and empathetic out of the turtles, he’s quick to make friends and is very persuasive due to his earnest nature and good heart. much like donnie, he prefers to solve conflict without violence but does enjoy knocking skulls a lot more than donnie. unlike donnie, though, he is almost overly forgiving and not petty at all. he’s well aware that his kindness and forgiveness may be taken advantage of, but he still likes to approach people with an open hand, even if he knows that it may end up getting bitten. oh, and his hobbies include drawing, cooking, singing, and dancing. he likes to express himself!

Raphael: 14 years old, mississippi map turtle, trans, bi. all his fury is compressed within his tiny body, that’s why he’s so angry all the time! no, he’s not angry all the time, but he does have a short fuse. he absolutely hates his anger issues which leads to a lot of self-loathing, and a lot of frustration as his family members either don’t take his anger seriously or don’t have the tools to help him with it. he’s the physically strongest out of the bunch and the least agile. he loves animals and plants a lot and keeps a lot of flowers in his room, hoping that he can one day become a gardener. as his idw self, he wants to watch things grow, but no matter what he does he seems to be best at destroying things. he’s also the one most self-conscious about how the human world perceives them, as he greatly fears rejection, and is the first one to see something positive with people getting mutated - namely, that maybe this way mutants will be more well known and finally accepted by society, so he’ll no longer be trapped in the sewer until the end of his days. so yeah, he’s a huge optimist, in truth. also he’s great at knitting - great at creating and taking care of things in general - and there’s no leo and raph rivalry this time around. he can get mad at leo but not really more than he gets with his other brothers.

Casey: 15 years old, nonbinary (they/them), bi. teen vigilante who gets inspired to fight mutants and the big time criminals (no beating up pickpockets or shoplifters or whatever, just the ones that are really hurting people) and gets roped into the turtle fam after meeting raph and becoming unexpected friends (everyone was expecting it, once Casey realized that mutants are people and not weird monsters. well, not all the time, anyways). they struggle a bit in school not because of a lack of trying but a lack of time, as their parents work full time jobs and someone has to take care of casey’s little sister. their parents are very loving, but they only have so much time, so casey takes it upon themselves to take care of their little sister when their parents are busy and/or burned out from work. that, and they run into the classic dilemma of vigilante work clashing with school work. as always, they have a short fuse, they’re pretty cocky, they like beating ass, and they like hockey a whole lot. hockey, vigilante work, school, and taking care of their little sister... yeah, they have a lot on their plate. oh, and making their little inventions like the taser glove and their puck bombs, something that they bond with donnie over.

Leonardo: 17 years old, Central American wood turtle, trans, gay. he doesn’t fall in love with his sister oh my god. ahem. so, leo is raised from the start to be a Leader and has to mature very quickly, learning to be an adult way earlier than he should’ve, and as such he is very stoic and quiet, and doesn’t seem to have any hobbies, instead just doing chores and training almost constantly, and when he’s not doing that he’s reading or sleeping in his free time. he’s incredibly protective of his younger brothers and his other allies/friends, even if he acts distant and detached most of the time, and removes himself from situations where they’re having fun to not be the stick in the mud. he loves his brothers and admires them greatly, believing they could be So Much if the surface world would just accept them, and as a result he tries to be The Soldier so his brothers won’t have to. alas, they still get caught up in the Kraang and Shredder business, which frustrates him internally. he is the best fighter out of the turtles on account of having more years to train (and convincing Splinter to wait a few more years before they got Real training bc Come On Dude They’re Kids) but it’s the Only thing he’s good at, along with stealth and his sharp eyes. he absolutely sucks at talking when it isn’t about a mission or something he can script easily in his head. in his mind, he’s supposed to be more of a weapon than a person, an idea that isn’t exactly encouraged by Splinter... but not exactly discouraged either. his arc would be very paralleled with Karai’s, as they would both learn to hate their dads... also, absolutely down for murder, and a lawful neutral at best, putting his family and friends’ safety above all other things and following a strict personal code. doesn’t care too much for society’s laws, though.

Karai: 16 years old, demigirl, lesbian. same backstory as in the show, she’s born as Miwa but gets taken by Oroku Saki and raised as his daughter. however, she doesn’t exactly want revenge against Hamato Yoshi because she believes that he killed her mother. she never knew her mother, so it’s much more difficult to hate someone for taking her mother away, even if it does mean that she never got to know her mother. especially since her father rarely spoke of what her mother was like, and much more about how much he hates Yoshi. instead, her need for revenge is more for the possibly idyllic life she was robbed of, since she believes that maybe, just maybe, her father Saki would’ve been a kind father that would’ve let her have a normal childhood and not be molded into a warrior from the start if her mother still lived. and hey, maybe Tang Shen would be a nice mom too. being trained in the art of deception, Karai has a tendency to talk a lot and say very little, or at least very little that is true. she is rarely ever sincere and acts as if she’s taking nothing seriously, which is part of her defense mechanism to never let anyone close or see her true self. she mocks pretty much everyone, ally and enemy alike, but especially likes to make fun of her father’s henchmen and is always the first to point out their failures. while she does value honor to some extent, she is a bit “flimsy” when it comes to loyalty, especially after the truth about her father is revealed. when that is revealed, she at first just feels very numb, learning that not only has she been nothing but a tool and a weapon for the Shredder from the very start, but also that the idyllic fantasy where her mother still lived, perhaps her life wouldn’t be so different after all. she looks at leonardo and sees a reflection of herself, that her “real” father chose to train his sons the same way the Shredder trained her. she feels stupid for feeling like she’s been robbed of even a fantasy, but it still enrages her. of course, this also inspires her to stay with the Foot Clan... just to get the kill on Shredder.

... yeah. that got long. ahem. i’m very passionate about this unfortunately!! anyways i might draw/write more for it because no one can stop me and i’m having fun

[brightlotusmoon]

Mikey dramatically fell back onto his pillow nest. "Pf. None of my brothers have imagination. What a crisis."

-

@remmushound I know it's Bayverse Mikey but that's every Mikey.

No wonder he appoints himself the family therapist.

[brightlotusmoon]

Me thinking about 1990 Mikey wanting to talk about pizza rather than death, then deciding to hunt down every similar moment of vulnerability in 2003 Mikey because why not.

[brightlotusmoon]

Running trope I like about tmnt(though its kinda dark): apocalypse type situations raph is never the last turtle standing. He's usually the first one to die and never is last. Mikey is usually the last one standing with the occasional Donnie and Leo. I just love that usually Mikey is the last one standing. It tells you a lot how powerful he is and much more likely he is to survive. I don't know how to describe it. But I love this angst trope. But no turtle in the end lasts lomg without at least one of their brothers.

Mmm, yes, I have noticed that. Raph is always going to follow his instincts down to the graveyard.

Mikey's strength seems to come from the very foundation he came from, his love and loyalty for his brothers. Which is why The Last Ronin and SAINW hurt the way they did.

In Mirage, sometimes stories that take place in a far future show that Mikey has disappeared, only his shell found.

What fascinates me about Mikey's character is how malleable he's always been around a powerful steady core. His brothers orbit him without realizing. So does the franchise.

[brightlotusmoon]

Cutest couple award. Doesn't even need to be romantic or anything.

(that song has a lot of personal history for me and Mikey is my favorite fictional character so)

[brightlotusmoon]

"There is no dark side of comedy, really. As a matter of fact, it's all dark. Heheh." -Patton Oswalt

(Vice Channel is going to air a documentary show called The Dark Side Of Comedy.

My high brain found this rather funny.)

It's true, though. A lot of comedy comes out of resilience. Resilience comes out of trauma.

[brightlotusmoon]

Watch "Michelangelo is different - The Path (TMNT comics)" on YouTube

I was looking for reviews of the Mirage issue "The Path" to quote Splinter's speech to Mike, and I found this. Ooof. Yeah.

[brightlotusmoon]

The Path/Transcript | TMNTPedia | Fandom

[Splinter sits on a chair in the center of a room. There are bookcases on either side of him filled with books and both books and scrolls are stacked around the chair. His walking stick leans against a stack of those books, and in one hand he holds a lily, in the other he holds nunchaku.]

Splinter "Lonely warrior, your path is difficult. Should we strive to be as cold-hearted as our worst enemy? Like your mighty brothers, you too are a warrior born and trained. You, though, are not as steely-edged as may be required... You follow your heart on a broken, curving road to uncertain destinations. Even so, there may still be balance for you. Will you choose wisely? With compassion? Or will you think only of yourself? We shall see."

He's talking about Mikey, by the way. Mikey is the lotus.

And then his cat dies in his arms. But he adopts one of the kittens, Klunk II.

@remmushound this is what's happening in the astral plane with the Multiverse Memories movie screen. Bayverse Splinter has some Feelings to sort through.

Ooooh, I should find the issue of City At War where The Rat King shows up during Splinter's hallucinogens, and Splinter is given a This Is Why You Suck trope speech about why he won't reach nirvana. Haha burn.

[brightlotusmoon]

Mikey relieving group stress by rambling about apparent nonsense ADHD style until everyone stares him is annoyingly effective. It's happened in every single iteration, it's almost one his trademarks, and these days I'm seeing more fic writers realizing that Michelangelo's humor is actually pretty fucking morbid and he chooses to be light and perky on purpose. Because I do that too.

[brightlotusmoon]

Hello! Sorry if I'm bothering you, but I wanted to say you really inspire me as a fellow disabled person. Thank you for the writings you create, and for advocating so openly about the struggles that come with this life. Your Mikey-like optimism and creativity brighten many people's days. You deserve the best in life. :D

Awwwww!

Thank you, thank you, this is amazing. I really need motivation like this. I am never ever bothered by things like this.

[brightlotusmoon]

Watch "Michelangelo is different - The Path (TMNT comics)" on YouTube

I was looking for reviews of the Mirage issue "The Path" to quote Splinter's speech to Mike, and I found this. Ooof. Yeah.

[brightlotusmoon]

Consider: Instead of using Hufflepuff, we can say we subscribe to the Michaelangelo Hamato school of thought: That all creatures, regardless of immediately apparent talent, have their own innate value and are worthy of love.

OH. YES YES. That's intrinsic and fundamental to his character and I have too many feelings about his goofy portrayal by canon and fanfiction but it's a long rant I'm tired

Also I think I said something exactly like this to my husband the other day while we were highly medicated: Something about how Michelangelo Hamato is like the spirit child or embodiment of a honey badger and a capybara, and a golden retriever. That he loves everyone automatically, like a reflex, and he will excoriate and gleefully damage anything that harms what he loves.

[brightlotusmoon]

-

Father never said that he was lagging behind the others, but he didn’t have to. He knew.

It was always ‘Mikey, shut up.’, ‘Mikey this’, ‘Mikey that’, ‘Sorry about Mikey-’ “We need to talk about Mikey-” blah, blah, blah. It just made him feel...defeated. Not in a way like they’d just lost a fight against Shredder, but a deeper feeling inside, curling its hold around his chest and stomach and heart and making him want to just cease to exist.

-

First of all, OW, I relate too painfully.

Second of all, OW because there's no closure.

Also, whoever said a Michelangelo can't be introspective because his brand is Head Empty needs to sit down I just wanna talk-