The victims of Marcille's 'healing' are something special

Marcille everyone, truly

personally i think girls who get embarrassed easily should be tickled but that’s just me idk

i need yall to see this actually

gustholomule shippers are about the funniest people in the fandom

Me seeing my fave character become “uwu soft boy who does no wrong”-ified by a fandom (it’s a canon even.) (it can not be prevented)

a powerpoint based on my two current obsessions. this was so fun to make, thanks for hosting this event!

You mentioned not liking how Mikey and Leo’s arcs are usually handled and trying to make something more suited in your once human au. I was curious what you do/don’t like about the all the brother’s arcs in general.

Oooh that is a good question actually... I think the simplest way to explain my issue with any of the character arcs in the TMNT franchise as a whole is that - I like my TMNT media to give equal narrative weight and screentime to all turtles, and my issues with Mikey and Leo's arcs boil down to the fact that Mikey is often side-lined and given no character arc and Leo is focused on way too much to the point that it gets tiresome and overdone.

And that's probably why I like Donnie and Raph so much because they do get fairly balanced moments of growth and screentime in most versions that they appear in.

It's sad to me that one of the few versions that I've seen so far that gives equal screentime to each character is TMNT 1987. Which is a fun version, don't get me wrong, but since the story itself is moreso geared towards villain-of-the-week type scenarios, there's not necessarily "arcs" for the characters that much. So it's frustrating to me that other versions, which do give deeper development to the turtles, don't do so equally. It somewhat defeats the purpose to me of the TMNT as a team, as a family, if they don't grow together.

That's the TL;DR of it, but for more character-specific info, read on:

So, let's break down each character and what I like/don't like about their arcs. I'm gonna go in (rough) order of who I think gets the most attention by the writers/creators, from least to most.

Michelangelo

It is unfortunate to me that Mikey seems to get sidelined the most. I haven't seen a TMNT version yet that gives him an actual arc (granted, I haven't seen ALL versions all the way through, but this is a general observation I have). He seems to be relegated to "comic relief" or "baby brother" in a lot of versions. I love him, don't get me wrong, but what I'd love to see in any version is maybe that wide-eyed optimism, friendliness, and jokester attitude challenged in a real way by the plot or by some villain. I think you could really get something deep with that, and I think such an arc would work well for his character. The closest I've seen to Mikey getting some deeper development is the original Mirage comics and Rise of the TMNT, but even then, I feel like the focus often stays on the other three. The one positive part of what he does seem to do for the narrative as a whole, is it often seems like he's the glue that holds the group together. When things get dark, Mikey is there to brighten things up in his own way. This boy deserves more love and attention by the writers on a whole!

Donatello

Donnie is another one to often get pushed to the side a bit and fills the niche "brainy/techy" role. However, his character is often less of a "joke" than Mikey is sometimes made out to be. He gets a lot of good moments in a lot of versions. He's given a lot of angst as well (looking at you 2003). The amount of screentime he gets seems to be largely dependent on the version. I believe the 2007 movie barely gave him any lines/scenes, but then you've got '87, '03, and Rise that gives him TONS of awesome standalone episodes. The main thing I'd change for him, is the same thing with Mikey and that is that this guy needs a bigger plot role as well and an actual character arc. He almost gets one in Rise of the TMNT - and I think it's a good one about feeling more self-worth, getting deserved recognition, and also allowing his emotions to show beyond his "bad boy" facade. Unfortunately, even in Rise, I feel like some of his growth is overshadowed by Raph's and Leo's (and Splinter's, too, actually) (side-note, kudos to Rottmnt for actually giving Splinter a character arc).

Raphael

Out of all of the turtles, I believe Raphael has the best balance when it comes to screentime, focus episodes, and character growth throughout ALL versions. A lot of versions give Raph the growth of having to overcome his anger and attitude, and allow him to work more cohesively with his brothers. I'm a personal sucker for the "tough on the outside, soft on the inside" character trope, and Raph is basically this to a T in most incarnations. I like it when his arc is often allowing that soft side of himself to show and allowing him to have a closer connection to his brothers and the people around him. As well as allowing him to be less angry at not just others, but also at himself. It's a solid character arc in my opinion, and one that doesn't take away from the others around him, but instead enhances them because his arc is often how he treats/works with others. Rise gives him a different version of that - he needs to work with others better, not because he's too tough, quite the opposite in fact, but because he needs to learn to trust his family just as his family trusts him. He needs to learn to let go more, which I think is a similar, yet unique facet to his character and I appreciate Rise for that. I have very little negatives to say about any Raphael arc. He could stand to hit Mikey less in '03 and '12 tho. That bugs me to no end, but is a frustration for a different time.

Leonardo

Ah yes, the golden child. The favored son. The one everyone (both inside and outside the narrative) likes. In fact, that's exactly what bothers me about Leonardo. Leonardo is pretty much ALWAYS given a huge arc that ties in with the main plotlines of the story, and it almost always is tied to his role as the leader. I feel like lots of versions of Leo give him the leader role and make him the "best/most skillful" ninja without him earning that title. He just is. He's the "eldest" son. He's just good at what he does. He's just Splinter's favorite. And I think there's something wrong with that when they're supposed to be a family and it kind of sucks to see the narrative, and by proxy, Splinter, play favorites. And often the narrative seems to present Leo's judgement on things as correct, even when sometimes he's wrong. But because he's the LEADER it's presented by the narrative that he is almost always right. It feels like the writers have to create a conflict that Leo needs to overcome or a decision that he has to make, and decide from the get-go that he's going to make the right decision, without really figuring out the nuances of said conflict first. So to me, a lot of his "leadership arc" falls flat, because I feel like he is written as Leader first and Character second. So it's a similar frustration to me with Mikey's (lack of) character growth - his role in the group/narrative is what defines him more than his actual personality. Rise of the TMNT is the only one where I feel like his growth was actually earned, and that is because he was starting from a much lower point. He needed to learn responsibility and heroism in a way that other Leos just have from the get-go. I could actually see Rise-Leo being leader because that growth was set up - not just his leader-like qualities, but also his skills with his weapons, and his ability to plan. I'd like to see more of that from Leo rather than just a guy that we're supposed to respect from the very beginning, just because the narrative says so.

So there you have it, my general take on character arcs in TMNT. I feel like what might help this sort of unbalanced narrative issue that TMNT has is maybe do something like what Ducktales 2017 or Teen Titans did - and that is give each character their own focus-season. In both DT and TT, each main character got sort of a season to themself that focused on them and followed their general arc. You could do something similar with TMNT - give each turtle their own season. And idk, if it goes further than four seasons, then idk give April, or Splinter, or Casey their own focus season, or one that ties everyone together for a big send-off. That's one idea. Either that or actually just plan out an equal-ish number of episodes and plot threads for each turtle.

Overall, my issue is with the balancing rather than the arcs themselves.

i need for ppl to be like "what the fuck even goes on in this fic" everytime i post art for eyeballs to entrails

working on some pins

I've noticed quite a bit of changes about me and quite a few things that remain the same.

Changes:

- First of all, I'm no longer a pro-harassment anti-shipper. It doesn't solve the issue at all, it's better to either try and educate them or just block, report, spread awareness and move on. I still hate the fuck out of pro-shippers though, they will never get my respect.

- I don't simp over Sniper anymore. Or any of the TF2 characters really, I kinda fell out of that whole hyperfixation. Now I just simp over COD MW2 men and keep going back and forth between Dying Light and Skyrim hyperfixations ahdhfhwkdh

- Man idk, something in my brain kinda just fucking clicked at how unhinged I used to be. I need to tone that shit the fuck down 😭

- I'm a fucking Wiccan now. Witchy things go brrrr, it's a lot of fun!

- I'm likely not going to be role-playing anymore unless I'm super close with the person. There was some discourse I got into on Instagram that carried over to Discord and it ruined the whole thing for me.

Same:

- I'm still gonna simp hard over men. Not as intensely and obscene as I used to, but it's still gonna be there.

- I'm still gonna be a pothead. Funny hehe plant, I'm gonna get a medical card for it sometime next month after I turn 18

- I'm still Jade. I'm still a genderfluid/nonbinary person. That's a definitive and unchanging truth. It took me forever to accept myself for who I am, but I feel like I'm finally at peace.

Anyways, sorry for the whole ramble, I felt like I just wanted to get all this off my chest.

Oh the happiness of seeing Marcille healing moment animated

verbal teasing will have me floored each and every time

the faction isles has one braincell and kuervo has it. always.

ok so after reading 7 ao3 pages of gustholomule fics ive concluded a couple common things ive seen of this pairing:

these boys love going out at 3 am

gus can not cook

matt being rly good at drawing

matt finding out that gus kept his artifacts

gus and his delirious rambling abt matt when sick

the keeper enjoys seeing these two dance around each other

matt staying over at gus' house and being awkward around perry

perry (and literally everyone else who arent their friends) thinking theyre dating

steve and matt having the "i may or may not have kidnapped your friend as a scout" "you WHAT" talk

gus memorizing every detail of matts appearance and behaviour so he can easily tell if an enemy disguised as his friend

matt learning illusion magic with gus and it being like: "think of an image, anything. focus hard on the details that image and the illusion should be fine" "*accidentally makes an illusion of gus. bonus points if hes smiling*"

gus is the one who drives

matt clinging onto gus as he flies

graveyard adventures

matt pulling a few strings and getting gus back in the has

gus loves playing with matts hair

matts family owning the book nook

did i mention going out on midnight walks

gus being the only one matt can slowly trust to be vulnerable around

gus having a bit of a crush on steve bc he reminds him of matt

matt hiding under his hoodie

cattholomule. nya and stuff

steve playing counselor for matt when he has a fight with gus

gus taking care of matts clumsy self

matt knowing a bit of healing magic

ice scream date !!

gus trying to get matt to sit with him and the hexsquad during lunch

matt idly making mini gus figurines out of wood. bonus if gus finds out and wants one to keep

matt lending gus a shirt but its too small

they are so normal ab each others hands

feel free to add

My Roman Empire is in the Arc of a Scythe series making me feel extrem sympathy for Goddard.

His Sh scene in the Toll

His ENTIRE CHAPTER IN GLEANINGS.

He is such a well rounded villain if I want to punch this man in the jaw and nuts but also give him a warm glass of milk and a weighted blanket.

love giving out life advice i struggle to follow myself XD