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torturedblue · 10 months

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Part 2 of endless Disaster Twin parallels, the not so fun version

Part 1, the fun version

Considering the series shows Donnie coming off as autistic, he’s portrayed that way much more in fan art and fanfics, etc. We often see it in fan portrayals through an aversion to touch or his senses getting overwhelmed, etc. In the show I noticed Leo actually has a consistent aversion to anything with a gross texture too: like in the first episode when they’re all sliding down Draxum’s vines and he’s tripping over himself, the only one bothered by them “I hate this!”

He also starts flailing in a panic after a worm jumps on his face (and do I even need to bring up how the texture of worms ain’t all that enjoyable let alone on your face), recoils when that evil Hidden City massage guy pours hair serum all over his head, and he’s the most visibly repulsed when Raph gets trash all over them in the beginning of Battle Nexus: New York. So on multiple occasions he comes off as pretty texture or germ averse as well

Both also have insecurity issues about their role to the team: “If mystics can do everything I can but better then why would you guys even need me?” “I’m nothing without them!”

Ironically, in Many Unhappy Returns, Splinter thinks Leo doesn’t know what he’s doing and isn’t taking the mission seriously, saying he should’ve brought Purple. But in the same episode during fights with Shredder Donnie’s seen texting on his phone half of the time. Which is also very parallel to Leo making quips in the beginning instead of helping fight like Donnie and the others

In that same fashion, Donnie’s also goofiest when everyone’s acting serious in Insane in the Mama Train, while Leo’s the unserious one in the following episodes. Another role reversal from their norm

The show also portrays these two as feeling the most affected by Splinter’s history of emotionally distant parenting. Donnie constantly talks about his unmet need for parent-aged-adult approval/validation, and Leo shows his struggle in a more Leo-like way, constantly finding father figure connections in other people like Jupiter Jim and The Dunk. He also rejects/roasts Splinter a lot too, which seems more like a form of overcompensation; acting like he doesn’t totally need or crave Splinter’s attention. The exact opposite of Donnie’s methods. “No! I’m not going back to what’s-his-rat.”

“He’s my all-time favorite actor/role model/father figure!”

“That eccentric billionaire, who was kind of a surrogate father figure to me, has shown me a version of myself I don’t like.”

Leo acts like he doesn’t pine for his affection. I’m sure he sees the way Donnie openly, desperately goes after it when it’s offered and then gets crushed even harder with disappointment (ahem Turtle-dega Nights). No way Leo’s opening himself up to that. I mean come on how sad is the moment when Splinter says they should do something together and Mikey is so eager to jump on the opportunity before it gets taken away, only for Donnie to have to pull him aside and remind him it’s usually some kind of trick or he’s likely possessed? Just for Mikey to immediately respond, “You’re right, I always fall for this!” Ouch. Honestly considering Mikey’s empathy and emotional maturity in mind, the reason both he and Raph seem to handle Splinter’s lack of attention so well is probably also because in addition Raph became a second parent himself, and taking on that role like Splinter, he knows from his own experience that even though their dad doesn’t show it in the ways they wish he would, of course he loves them and what he does do to take care of them as a parent proves that

I think the parallels and direct contrasts between how Leo and Donnie show their dissatisfaction in their relationship with Splinter is probably the most developed and interesting one to me 💔

I mean Leo’s the only one who would actually say something like this to Splinter and you can’t tell me there’s not some deep-seated resentment in the way he looks and the way he says it…

So yeah. There’s the sad edition of Disaster Twins parallels. Let’s all cry together 😃

#disaster twins #rottmnt disaster twins #rottmnt leo #rottmnt donnie #leo and donnie #rottmnt character analysis #these poor boys

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unfortunate-songbird · 1 year

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Analysis because I’m bored

I’d do a venndiagram thing but it won’t fit everything so you get a confusing list instead

Zuko from Avatar. Hunter from Owl House. Leo from Rise. Tommy from DSMP.

What do they have in common?

a frikcin lot, actually

Leo&Hunter&Zuko&Tommy

16 y/old boy

Trauma city baybee

Has cried on screen at least once

Self-sacrificial tendencies (some more prominent than others)

Mental health in the gutter

What’s a therapist

Magic exists

Angst magnets both in canon and in the fandom

Can Not catch a break ever

Cocky

They all have siblings

Dumbass. Every single one of them. They’ve all done really stupid things.

Sometimes they are in absolutely misery and sometimes they are just incredibly funny for no reason

High key dramatic

“Most people find me annoying at first” they piss off a lot of people and can be kinda obnoxious

Strange creatures exist

Distinct color

Almost fell to their death in a very dramatic scene

But wait, there’s more:

Tommy&Hunter&Leo

No mom at all

Literally none

Silly goofy guys <3

Blonde (look ik Leo only had hair for 1 episode and it was evil but let me have this)

Really wants attention/validation and does some stupid stuff to get it (ok Zuko probably does too but it’s a little less?? Obvious?? Idk)

America exists

They live in a comedy world (aside from the angst) and it Shows

Starts out silly goofy and then turns into angst (Avatar was kinda angsty from the beginning)

Knows a few words of Spanish (which is more than Zuko knows considering Spanish doesn’t exist in his world)

Leo&Zuko&Tommy

swords

Don’t wanna flex but they’ve never been possessed (rip Hunter)

Doesn’t travel between realms (fantasy vs the real world but with some magic involved)

Does not attend school at all and shows no interest in doing so

Has a normal vocabulary (doesn’t use nerd words as much as Hunter)

Face visible from their first appearance

Has fist-fought people and will again

Fshshs this one is not very long

Zuko&Hunter&Leo

Cartoon

They can wield magic powers

Has a large support group of people who love them (oof Tommy)

Has at least one good parental figure (oof Tommy)

Recovery! Hopeful endings! :) (oof tommy)

When they almost fell to their death they were saved by a loved one (oof tommy)

Big brother moment (at least one younger sibling)

Very protective over younger siblings (adopted or not)

American accents

Tommy&Hunter&Zuko

human (look hunter’s a clone of a human I’m counting it)

They like girls (probably straight)

Manipulated by one of the most powerful character in their world

Experienced abuse and is very clearly traumatized by it

Not very good at acting like they’re totally fine and not at all mentally ill

Trauma is actually addressed in canon (Fshshs rip Leo)

Goes off into the wilderness alone for a while and comes back disheveled, distressed, and generally not vibing

Can go places without being immediately ostracized due to being an actual turtle (Rip Leo)

Can’t lie to save their lives

Actually exists in other worlds besides just like…. New York

But of course, who would I be if I just stopped there??

Tommy&Hunter

fully blonde

Has had multiple panic attacks on screen

Dog person (hunter likes wolves and tommy does too)

Finds out rather abruptly that their abuser doesn’t care about them and has a mental breakdown over it

Friends are all very very traumatized

Would cry at being accepted into a family (Hunter did and you can’t tell me Tommy wouldn’t bc he really badly wants a family)

People tend to dislike them a lot despite them not really deserving it? (Like yeah they’re a little obnoxious at times but it’s not that big of a deal)

Their animal friends always die :(((

Worrying suicidal/semi-suicidal behavior?? (Hunter was digging his own grave ok I know it was kinda played for humor but that’s messed up. I don’t even need to mention Tommy boy was fully and canonically suicidal)

Spend most of their time in another realm being somewhat? Aware of another realm but no one really going there until much later

LGBTQ rep in canon (not them specifically tho)

“Aw, they’re finally heali- oop, nope, there’s another buttload of trauma”

Zuko&Leo

Uses two swords at once

Very good sword fighter also

Tends to kinda jump into things without thinking even though they’re smart and can strategize well but somehow it works out for them in ways it really shouldn’t

Is occasionally the voice of reason while everyone else is being dumb

Feels weak and powerless next to their super-powerful awesome sibling(s)

Main parental figure is a short Asian man with grey hair that is very powerful but tends to act silly. Also they don’t like utilizing their incredible fighting skills unless necessary bc of their Tragic Past (TM)

Tommy&Leo

Your second priority is your loved ones. Your first priority should always be committing to the bit

Humor coping mechanism

Makes stupid decisions for the funni

Really loves their older brother who gives them a lot of guidance (to the point of almost being a parental figure)

They have a main mentor/parental/familial figure that they really love and that loves them in return but their relationship is somewhat strained due to the mentor figure’s poor mental health causing them to inadvertently hurt them

Make silly noises heehoo

Some angst but mostly funni

They have heartbreaking angst and then straight back to crack levels of comedy

Can be very overconfident in their abilities, especially when it comes to smooth-talking/scamming people

Trapped in a prison with an unbeatable foe and basically beaten to death

They only escaped because of magic previously thought impossible

Angst in a dark void heehoo

Younger brother energy

Antagonizes a lot of people

Allowed to swear

Upset someone who loves them because they didn’t seem to be taking a situation seriously and it ended up with a lot of hurt from both parties

Hunter&Zuko

Father figure is the leader of an oppressive regime

Raised from birth to believe said regime is good and helping people

Good heart under it all

Redemption arc when they figure out they’re on the wrong side (takes a while because they don’t want to think ill of their father figure even though they’re blatantly abusive)

Mental breakdown moment when they realize- was in denial for a long time before that point

Visible scars caused by abuser

Gets a new, actually nice parental figure

Big brother of their friend group

Bulliable

Socially awkward

Changes outfits throughout the show to show their character growth and development

Has some moments of empathy with protagonists before actual redemption arc

Not actually the protagonist/ main focus (look, Tommy and Leo are very much main characters)

Adopted 12 y/o younger brother who is very powerful and they are very protective over him

Little brothers’ eyes glow blue when they use their powers

Zuko&Tommy

theater nerds

Overdramatic

Red guys

Lashes out at people who care about him

Born naturally (as far as we know)

One-on-one duels don’t work out so great for them

They have been Everywhere. Almost every large event involves them somehow

100% actually human

Sometimes uses swords, sometimes other stuff

Don’t do great wandering in the wilderness on their own

Talks to themselves/random animals when stressed

Anger issues anger issues anger issues

Jerk with a heart of gold (real)

Has canonically committed many crimes and doesn’t feel guilt about most of them (some of the worse ones that really hurt people they do feel bad for tho)

They commit arson and it’s not ideal

Falls into a minor villain arc right when it seemed like they were going to get better, then realizes this isn’t who they are and confronts the person encouraging them to be violent/cruel

Leo&Hunter

Artificially created by a dramatic being with a gold horned mask and nefarious plans centered around genocide and conquest

Obsessed with a science fiction franchise and dresses up as characters from it

Is shown to enjoy wearing animal costumes once and then it’s never brought up again (Leo’s unicorn onesie and Hunter’s split-second Flapjack costume)

Teleportation

Trauma surrounding possession

Knows a little bit of Spanish

Acts confident and smug and cocky when in battle mode but is actually insecure and sad

also:

anyway that’s all thanks for reading

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doctorqueue · 6 months

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Splinter Parenting Character Analysis/Thoughts

@somerandomdudelmao 's newest update caption got my brain revving so I wrote this hsgzjt.

[All my own thoughts ofc; All /nm /gen]

When it comes to splinter, especially with emotional attentiveness and negligence; I try to remember one key thing.

H e ' s l i k e D o n n i e.

He's as oblivious to emotional cues as our local mad scientist, and is like Mikey and a lot of the boys when it comes to things like time blindness, connecting the dots, memory and generally being observant or processing things fully.

None of this EXCUSES parts of his behaviour [or lacktherof]; but it's a very important distinction; Especially because we've seen time and again how much he CARES.

When someone snaps or spells something out to him he switches SO quick. Like in 'Turtle-dega Nights' [Demolition Derby ep].

The Biggest difference with him and the boys is they're much better and experienced with COMPENSATING for these inherent difficulties. Something that Splinter has to and has gotten better at working on;

He clearly wasn't the best at it as a young adult; And Obviously the stress and depression of suddenly being turned into a tiny rat dude with 4 babies he has to raise and care for, with no money, while avoiding both humans AND Yokai, wouldn't provide much self reflection.

I feel like a lot of the 'he's a perceptive amazing dad' and 'he's a negligent bad dad' takes kinda miss the mark y'know.. Bro is not bright and has def not always done enough, but he clearly puts the work in when sees it's needed; and the times the reminder gets through his thick skull that he's gotta up his emotional support game.

He loves them and is very open with how he KNOWS he needs to improve; which I don't see come up with most Splinters. That 'I'm in the wrong but I love you and want to keep trying to get better'.

Kinda Extra: May be more of a personal interpretation, I feel he would be much more on top of the boys when tots. Even in that short, in HIS mind he knew were they were; Clearly a there's a whole bunch of reasons why leaving 4 mischievous tots with ninja weapons wouldn't be a good idea [as I said connecting the dots and processing things aren't his fortay [or mine ;ᴗ;]]. Only kindof gettin too used to Raph taking care of things when they were becoming teens.

So like,,, in conclusion; He loves his fam and wants to do better but he's still p oblivious and needs to work on strategising around that HgsJtz.

#rottmnt #rise of the tmnt #my thoughts #rise splinter #splinter #hamato splinter #splinter hamato #rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles #rottmnt character study #rottmnt character analysis

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kathrine-of-the-fandoms · 2 years

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Also, i have so many emotions about the characterisations in the Ride version of tmnt?

Cause, here's the thing. When i first looked at it, i did not watch more than like, half of the first episode? It was Splinter that really turned me off personally, but I've mainly seen complainst back then about Splinter, Raph and Leo.

And i got it! They seemed like very different characters. But i find it so interesting to dive into! How the basic building blocks of those characters could be shaped into the Rise characters instead of the usual.

Imma focus on Raph first. So Raph is the leader in the Rise universe, something that he's never been before. He is also HUGE. So here's the thing. I imagine he had anger issues, like his previous version, when he was younger. But there is only so long you can be that big and lash out before really hurting someone by accident. Which i imagine happened. So Raph pulled back. He turned that anger into some anxiety and overprotectiveness. That, added to his leadership responsibilities, gentled him considerably. Oh he is still strong, and i love to see when his older iteration bleeds through, but it's also really nice to see a Raph that is more soft than angry.

Leonardo, because his brother had all his previous responsibilities, had the chance to just be a kid. It has been pointed out before that this iteration didn't have duty instilled into them like the previous versions. They learned because they wanted to, they protect the city because they can. And that is a huge weight off of their shoulders. These kids had fun! They grew up playful and messy and fun. And it is the most obvious in Leo. He is a bit too reckless, a bit too comedic, but he can be responsible when needed, even if he has a lot to learn, like the movie touched upon. I'm so glad he finally has more of a character arc than "continue to imrove, maybe, but to be fair, we are already good". He actually has to grow into this. I love that.

Splinter...i still don't love. I like him a lot more later in the series, especially in the movie, but at the start? He is a bit neglectful, and lazy. But i think he is a prime example of my previous point of the kids growing up as kids. Most other iterations called him Sensei/Master or Father. To these kids? He is Pops and Dad, and i love that. There was always a bit of a divide between the older version's Splinter and the turtles. There was a very clear power difference. Splinter always cared, mind! He was definitely more parenty that this one most of the times! But. Here? It's family. Splinter is not some superior Sensei with all the wisdom in the world. He is just...a dad. A bit of mess of one, but he's just their dad. And it is such a nice dynamic to see.

Anyway, i love, LOVE these iterations. Hope there is more. NICKELODEON, PLS MAKE MORE!🙏

#rottmnt #can you tell that i love these characters?#cause i do #my babies #it's so interesting to see different dynamics #to see a Leo i actually like #the older ones were always almost immediately a bit stuck up #comes with their role of leader i suppose #but it never made me all that interested in his leader arc #this Leo slowly grows into it #with a loving family to support him #and an older brother to help teach him the ropes #And i LOVE that #rottmnt leonardo #rottmnt raph #rottmnt splinter #rottmnt character analysis #kind of

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revolving-brain-turtle · 2 years

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Turtle Love Languages

Raph: physical touch, acts of service

Leo: words of affirmation, physical touch

Donnie: gift giving, quality time

Mikey: gift giving, physical touch

#rottmnt #rottmnt headcanons #rottmnt love langauge #rottmnt character analysis

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risestarkiss · 4 months

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✨The Fashionista✨

Rise Ramblings #234

While watching “The Clothes Don’t Make The Turtle,” I noticed something.

I found it interesting that Raph, Mikey, and Leo were content with Raph’s outfit choice until Donnie stated that he wasn’t “in love with it, ya’ know.”

Suddenly, Raph declares “I’m a disaster!” Albeit ridiculously endearing, it was a little strange to see his sudden shift from moderately content to absolute dissatisfaction. Huh…

Then, the disaster twins decide to help him out.

Take a note of their outfit choices.

Raph tries on all of these fits and more.

Donnie’s first choice is a mild “no.” Leo’s choice is a hard “NO.” (Not surprising, lol.) But then, the overwhelming consensus lands on Raph’s fourth outfit, which ended up being Donatello’s other pick for his brother.

So, in summary, Raph tried on his personal choice for an outfit, of which they rejected. Then, ultimately, Donatello picked out an outfit for his brother, and that pick ended up being perfect. Hmm…

Then I noticed something else. In this episode, we never get a Donnie “curtain reveal” moment, to our disdain. I mean, Raph, Leo, and Mikey got to try on several different outfits in order to get their brothers' opinions before landing on that “perfect outfit, you know the one.” All of his brothers got to shine. Why not DonTron?

Then it hit me.

The try-ons were to get their brothers' opinions and approval. And, for his brothers' choices, he was a major contributor in assisting them in pulling their looks together.

What if, bear with me, Donnie didn’t need the "curtain scene" because he was so confident in his fashion sense that he didn’t need to ask his brothers for help to pick out a great look.

…or they figured out how to break Hypno’s spell before he could get a “curtain reveal.” BUT STILL-

Look at his outfit choices in this episode. Some of his wardrobe changes were off-screen, but all of them were fire.

(I added the baseball cap pic because it makes me happy. I wish we'd seen more of that fit.)

To me, he makes some really smart choices for himself, pushing the envelope of what is expected and taking chances: an open collar with no tie for a “black tie” event, a beanie and spiked wristbands for their “gansta look,” no socks with loafers (a viral fashion trend that actually began in Africa) with old man slacks in his reclined pose. *muah* Chef’s kiss!

But Don’s fashion sense doesn’t just shine in this episode.

In “Reparin’ the Baron” the boys go to Draxum’s apartment. Leo and Donnie show up in some extra nice “Sunday Dinner” twin drip.

The gold is in the details. Everything Leo is wearing, Donnie rocks its compliment: for Leo’s round collar, Donnie’s is angled, for Leo’s blue shirt, Donnie’s is white, For Leo’s light slacks, Donnie’s are dark. Blah blah blah. It’s so good!

Look at the winter fit in Snow Day.

Again, Donnie is Leo’s perfect compliment. As a pair? Fire.

Donnie has “the eye.” I can go on and on with examples, but I’ve said all of that to say this…

In the future, we see that Donatello’s technology had major pull in the resistance. He had drone ships patrolling the skies. He built and designed Leo’s arm, Casey’s chainsaw-hockey stick, and Casey's mask. The list goes on…

But, when Donatello from the past see’s Casey’s clothing from the future, he says this:

We know about the “Genius Built” brand. We’ve seen that logo on all of his tech up to this point. But, here he didn’t just say “Genius Built.” He said, “Genius Built Apparel.”

“Apparel” is not a tech brand. “Apparel” is a fashion brand. Of course, tech is incorporated into the clothing, but still.

This means that past Donatello secured this trademark with plans of creating a fashion brand, comparable to the likes of Gucci, Ralph Lauren, or any other modern clothing brand, as a subsidiary of “Genius Built,” the tech company.

And why not? The evidence has been in front of us this entire time. He has a sharp eye for style, fashion, and trends. It is easily canon that he can sew. Splinter sewed their ninja garbs in “Insane in the Mama Train,” and there is a sewing machine in the house.

They already learned Ninjutsu through basically osmosis, so learning to sew is not too far-fetched.

And here it is, right in front of us, Casey’s entire ensemble, from mask, to weapons, to clothing, was made by Donatello in the middle of the apocalypse under the brand name “Genius Built Apparel.”

And that was just in the bad future. Resources were limited, they didn’t have access to much of anything in that broken world as they were survivors of a devastating Krang invasion. Yet, he created all of this.

However, now that they’ve changed the future, his future as a fashion designer is limitless. Think of what Donatello could produce with unlimited resources, unlimited technology, and unlimited creative freedom.

Tech genius. Clothing designer. Fashionista. Future Genius Built Apparel Owner and CEO. I’m sorry, but I have to call it...

Donatello Hamato of the present, of the bad future, and of the good future is a fashion icon, the likes of which the world has never seen. ○○○○

Update: I've decided to make this concept into a mini-comic series!

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lactoseintolerentswag · 7 months

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Big Mama's Dialogue

I've heard a few people lament on how Big Mama is difficult to write because of how she speaks, so I thought I'd share my tips and tricks.

I start out by writing what I intend for her to say without the flowery language added on. For example:

"I look nice in the new jacket I bought."

Doesn't sound like Big Mama at all, but it'll help you have a place to start so you don't have to be intimidated by scrolling through thesaurus.

Now, Big M has a tendency to do the following:

Use outdated American slang (anywhere from the 1920's to the 60's)

Apply alliterations (using the same letter at the beginning of a word to the adjacent/close word)

Use adverbs, so describing words with the end suffix -ly (i.e. softly, mysteriously, quickly)

Sprinkle in a few made-up words

So let's take the base sentence I provided an shape it to Big M's standards.

Resources for American slang:

Instead of word vomiting out all the outdated American slang I know, I'm going to link some resources/websites you all can look at and come back to. She mostly uses 20's slang, so the links are centered around that.

1920's slang PDF, alphabetically organized!!!

List of slang phrases originating from the 1920's to the 2010's

Short list of slang flapper's from the 1920's used

So let's edit our base sentence a little, now it's:

"This new jacket I bought is the cat's meow."

Adding the next layer:

I did mention that Big Mama tended to use both alliterations and adverbs in copious amounts, but don't feel pressured to use both at once in a sentence. If it fits, it fits. If it doesn't, some trimming might be useful. This is why having a base sentence is important, so the intention behind the dialogue isn't lost under all the additions you're adding. So with that in mind, I'm going to alter our example:

"This new jazzy jacket I just bought is the cat's meow."

The last part:

I save the "fake words" part for last, because beginning with them can make your sentences clunky or not make sense. This part really relies on your personal touch or the context and tone of the situation at hand. The example I gave make Big Mama sound like she's preening about her looks, so I'm going to lean into that.

"This newsie-woozie jazzy jackety I just bought is the cat's meow! Grr!"

And for comparison, here's where we started.

"I look nice in the new jacket I bought."

And well, that's it!!! Hope it was helpful to those that needed it!!!

#rottmnt #rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles #rise of the tmnt #rottmnt big mama #fanfic #character analysis #writing tips #tmnt #teenage mutant ninja turtles #critter talks

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takeabreathandsmile · 11 months

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Hot take: Don is low-key a romantic whereas Leo has zero interest in it.

(Not shown bc screenshot: Donnie nodding approvingly)

#This scene says it all. Plus Donnie has the most canonical crushes out of any of the turtles.#Leo just seems like he wants nuthin to do with all that mushy stuff lol. He's here to look awesome and have fun not make kissy-face.#Further proving that Donnie is the more mature twin despite being the younger twin.#disaster twins #rottmnt #leonardo hamato #donatello hamato #rottmnt leo #rottmnt donnie #rise leo #rise donnie #character analysis #screenshot #rise of the tmnt #rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles

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freakadr0id · 2 years

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Oh my GOD, I just realized why Donnie acts so weird in Man vs. Sewer. I always thought his behavior was odd in that episode, particularly in his nonchalance towards finding and saving Raph - but I had the most random thought occur to me during work that TOTALLY explains it. I'm sure some people have probably pointed this stuff out already, but I wanted to put this out there anyway.

The episode 'Man-vs-Sewer' is a personal favorite of mine. I love the episodes where the boys are just goofing off, and this episode is that plus some. We see get to see the boys having fun for a bit at the start of the episode, but it also adds a bit more depth to some of the turtles. We see a really surprising side to Raph's character with his fear of being alone, and Leo gets to shine a bit as a leader and hint at his true potential.

However, I was always a bit puzzled by the way Donnie and Mikey were written in this episode. As a rule, Rise is pretty good about keeping its characters, well, in character, so their behavior struck me as kind of strange, particularly Donnie's.

If there is one thing Rise NAILS about Donnie's character is showing that despite struggling with emotions and empathy, he is still NOT AN ASSHOLE. Donnie genuinely and deeply loves his family - he just has a hard time expressing it externally.

'Man-vs-Sewer' kind of stood out to me as an exception to that, however. At this point, Donnie's care for his brothers is an undisputed fact, so why does he seem so unconcerned about finding Raph after being separated? Even for Donnie, this seems like an ooc level of indifference towards the well-being of his brother (at least that's how I saw it).

Except, it isn't. In fact, this episode only reinforces that Donnie does care for his family, it's just a *bit* harder to see here.

One thing many neurodivergent people struggle with is a sudden change in plans. When they expect to do something that day it can be very difficult for some neurodivergent people to deal with it emotionally and can lead to immense frustration or even shutdowns. Since Donnie is confirmed to be, at the very least, autistic coded, this would absolutely apply to him as well.

The turtles planned to have a nice, relaxing day floating along New York's sewers and enjoying a small break from all the stress of finding the Dark Armor. No fighting, no mystic metal, no foot clan. Just a calm day of fun without a care in the world - only for it to be ruined by a bad pass and a lost brother.

I know if my plans were ruined like that, I would be in an absolutely FOUL mood. It can be hard to transition into a different mindset when the expectations for the day change like that, and it can make anyone frustrated, but Donnie doesn't appear to be that way. In fact, he's acting extremely casual.

Even though everything he was going to do today was upended and his brother is now missing in the New York sewers, why does Donnie seem so unconcerned about the whole situation?

Answer: It's a coping mechanism.

It would be very easy for him to be a bit more annoyed and frustrated at the whole situation (I definitely would be), but he isn't. Instead, he avoids getting overwhelmed and emotional by continuing through the day as if nothing has really changed.

The whole time they are finding Raph, Donnie behaves as if they are still on a peaceful, carefree mini-vacation. He makes snide jokes and jabs toward Leo, enjoys the drinks he brought in his shell, and constantly reminds the others that it is his "day off." If he can act as though he's still relaxing, it becomes easier to adjust to unexpected alterations in his day. This isn't Donnie being willfully inconsiderate towards Raph being lost and alone, this is just him trying to manage with the sudden changes the best he can in that moment.

If Donnie really was an uncaring asshole (as some may be inclined to believe given his apparent lack of empathy), he simply would have resumed their original plans, or been more vocally resistant to going after Raph. Instead, he joins his brothers in their search, and although he may not provide the best input for finding Raph because of his coping method (his brain is in "day off" mode which is why he keeps missing clues about Raph), he is still making an effort.

In a way, the episode which I thought portrayed a slightly out-of-character version of Donnie actually provides yet another example of how Donnie really loves his brothers, despite how it may seem on the surface.

~-~-~

(Actually, depending on the way you interpret his character, the same can be said for Mikey in this episode as well. Mikey is always a bit of a goofball in the show but in this episode, it is dialed up to 11. He also doesn't seem to much care or effort into finding Raph and acts like a child who managed to snag one of their parents' energy drinks. If we consider that maybe he is also struggling to adapt to the changes of the day, this could be him adopting a similar coping method to Donnie, it is just amplified because of his hyperactive behavior and personality.)

#damn I am continually impressed with how well Rise writes Donnie #seriously there are so many ways they could have really butchered his characterization #esp. as an autistic/autistic-coded character #but 9 times out of 10 the writers show that they *get* Donnie #and that they take time to consider how they portray his character in a healthy and positive manner #they have a couple missteps here or there #but overall Donnie is written just brilliantly #I hope I explained this well enough #I'm kind of thought dumping after this came to me in a vision during work #and I HAD to make this after I got home #shit this ended up way longer than I intended #rottmnt #rise of the tmnt #rottmnt donnie #rise donnie #rottmnt donatello #rise donatello #analysis #character analysis #I guess #not my greatest work #but it'll do #let's play the 'will it show up in the tags game?'

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torturedblue · 9 months

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Just thinking about how some of the mistakes that Raph makes when Leo advised him otherwise, he actually follows later…

Like in Bug Busters, Leo’s warning Raph and the guys of stranger danger over and over with Big Mama but he doesn’t listen

Then in Jupiter Jim Ahoy Raph’s the only one who isn’t blinded by his starstruckness and realizes how weird it is that Marcus Moncrief was inviting them to his house

Another example, in Many Unhappy Returns Raph’s extremely against Leo’s idea to split up to fight The Shredder and ask Big Mama for help (like bad mouthing Leo for multiple consecutive scenes against it)

But then in E-Turtle Sunrise of the Spotless Mind when Lou Jitsu is attacking them in Splinter’s mindscape, Raph has the idea to split up so the others can fight off Lou and he can find out the secret to defeating Shredder by himself

I think Leo and his leader skills might’ve been secretly rubbing off on Raph 🤔

#rottmnt #rise tmnt #blue guy is always leader #save rise of the tmnt #rise of the tmnt #unpause rise of the tmnt #unpause rottmnt #character analysis #rottmnt character analysis #rottmnt leo #rottmnt raph

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kitkat-the-muffin · 1 month

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Tis a niche of its own

Sorry there is only two female characters, I kinda pulled these off the top of my head and probably missed a ton of other candidates. Reblog with an addition if you have one!

Edit: I forgot to make this poll a week long! Once this poll ends I'll remake it with new additions depending on the results (the characters with the fewest results will be replaced with suggested characters from the notes so be sure to suggest some!) in the meantime tho plz reblog to increase sample size

This follows my own definition of what "Comic Relief" means: A character that is used as a conduit for comedy in a piece of media

Through character studies I have determined that there are 5 types of comic relief: the Character Relief, the Audience Relief, the Tone Shifter, the Butt of the Joke, and the Slapstick. Characters that identify as "Comic Relief" usually fall into one or more of these categories

Further explanation under the cut

The Character Relief refers to a character who actively makes jokes to be funny in-universe through conscious humor. Examples from this poll would be Sans and Rayla, who go out of their way to make their friends laugh

The Audience Relief refers to a character who makes the audience laugh regardless of their impact on the story. Examples from this poll would be Lapis and Gus, who are often involved in comedic bits meant for audience entertainment that aren't acknowledged by the narrative as anything unprecedented

The Tone Shifter refers to a character who makes jokes to relieve tension and shift the tone of a scene, either consciously or unconsciously. Examples from this poll would be Jay and Leo, as they both consciously make jokes about grim situations to help their friends or family feel better. Additionally, Jay would do this unconsciously before his trauma made him start doing it on purpose

The Butt of the Joke refers to a character who is made fun of by other characters in-universe, whether endearingly or not. Examples from this poll would be Dewey and Lance, who are often met with insults whenever they do something wrong or silly. The insults are usually meant to be endearing and comedic, but they can still feed into the character's possible inferiority complex. This also applies whenever a villain hits them with a sick burn*

The Slapstick refers to a character who is made fun of by the narrative and the audience like a punching bag. Examples from this poll would be Sokka and Yusuke, who are sometimes put in troubling and awkward situations as a gag for the audience's entertainment alone. These gags are not fun for the characters yet delightful to watch

Most comic relief characters can be characterized as multiples of these. For example, Jar-Jar from Star Wars is both Slapstick and Audience Relief, and even if you don't find his jokes funny that doesn't change the fact that they were written with your entertainment in mind

If you're curious how a "The Narrative's Favorite (derogatory)" character would fit into this chart, they're likely both a Butt of the Joke and a Slapstick character, making their life absolute hell. To be honest, MK from Monkie Kid is an example of a character who fits all 5 categories, but he isn't blue so he isn't in this poll

*Ok if you've ever seen Phineas and Ferb Mission Marvel let me just say MODOK is a total Butt of the Joke and my favorite line in that special is when a TV announcer calls him a "Giant Chicken Egg with a Face" and I just had to mention that omg

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unfortunate-songbird · 1 year

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Listen listen listen

okay so I know the parallels between Leo/Mirabel and Raph/Luisa have already been pointed out by many people

(if you haven’t heard of it:

Leo/Mirabel:

-insecure

-lack an obvious talent in their family of gifted people, causing insecurity

-wants their family to be proud of them

-cheerful goofy silly personality hiding larger problems

Raph/Luisa:

-elder sibling issues lmao

-strong

-tall

-big

-loves their family so so much

-being both older than their siblings (ok ik Luisa’s the middle child but she’s clearly very protective of Mirabel) and stronger physically means they feel responsible for their protection

-surface pressure is The Raph song )

anyways

I’m going out to the general Disney area bc mikey doesn’t really have a great counterpart in Encanto and Isabela works ok for Donnie but I wanted to do smth else

Mikey:

he’s nemo

-little orange guy

-youngest

-family is overprotective

-rebellious

-kind hearted n wants to make friends

-wants to prove himself / prove he can handle himself

-wants his family to Trust him (and in finding dory, wants marlin to Trust dory (draxum mayhaps?))

Nemo isn’t quite as feral, but tbf he’s like 8. Give him time.

Donnie

he’s maui

ok ok ik that sounds strange but hear me out

-prides himself on his skills

-comes across as arrogant/prideful on his skills and accomplishments, often diminishing those around him

-prickly lmao

-when his skills don’t push him through a problem/ he finds someone who is better, that loss of faith in his skills correlates to a complete loss of faith in himself

-sees his worth as a person entirely dependent on what he can do for others/can accomplish with his skills

-“without my hook, I am nothing” vs “if mystic tech can do everything I can, but better, then why would you guys even need me?” anyone?

Thoughts?

#rottmnt #rottmnt character analysis #character analysis #rottmnt donnie #rottmnt donatello #rottmnt leonardo #rottmnt leo #rottmnt raph #rottmnt rapheal #rottmnt mikey #rottmnt michelangelo

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microsofttothemax · 11 days

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okay i already talked about this on a reblog (at least i think i did) but im gonna talk about it more here

when krangified raph was clutching leo and holding him up, he wasnt just scaring leo and was ready to execute him, he was genuinely hurting leo’s throat, probably applying pressure onto the trachea for a period of time

whats the trachea, matt? great question!! i’ll tell you :]

the trachea is basically the tube in your throat that connects your voicebox to your lungs. its known as the windpipe, and it is one of the most vital parts in human anatomy. it helps you breathe and basically get air in and out to talk.

this organ helps you breathe, talk, and keep allergens from entering your throat

now, with all that in mind, lets look at the scene

raph grabs leo, and holds him in the air. not by the torso, by the throat. that puts a HUGE strain on leo’s entire windpipe, and he is very obviously struggling in the grip

leo is held there for a solid amount of time, long enough to bruise and possibly even cause serious vocal damage to his larynx. he faces severe tightness and pressure on his throat, and, as said before, he is literally being held by his neck

then this happens

raph’s tentacle tightens, and we can see the major discomfort in leo’s face as he does so. how leo continues to talk with this amount of pressure is beyond me, but thats cartoon logic i guess

with the huge amount of pressure raph probably put on leo’s neck, i would not be surprised if leo took vocal breaks and stopped talking some days in the aftermath of invasion because of the pain. that shit takes a toll on your body

#character analysis #scene analysis #rottmnt #tmnt #rottmnt leo #rise leo #leonardo hamato #rottmnt raph #rise raph #raphael hamato #rottmnt movie

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violynt-skies · 2 years

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How Leo’s role as face man prevents him from confiding with his team

Watching throughout the entire series we see Leo constantly keep up with his role as the face man of the group

While on missions he can use his charisma and persuasion in order to get people to go along with his plans without letting people know what he’s really thinking

But he never seems to put it down

•Leos Emotional Guard

At first glance Leo’s entire personality revolves around being lenient laid back and chill, and to everyone else it makes him seem like a very open book, and that’s why the face man role works out for him

But it means that no one is really aware of anything beneath the surface. They never bother to ask because who would need to?

However, this also includes Leo’s family

Despite his chilled back personality Leo is one of the most emotionally guarded ones out of all of the brothers

Throughout the series we can see little moments of vulnerability from each members of the family, digging deeper into their emotions and their insecurities and then go on to discuss said feelings and gain some form of comfort or closure from their family. Most notable ones shown below

Donnie in “Donnie vs Witch Town”

Raph in “Anatawa Hitorijinai”

Mikey in “Hidden City’s Most Wanted”

April in “Always Be Brownies”

Splinter & Donnie in “Turtledega Nights”

•How Leo is Different

Similar to everyone else, Leo is shown to have these moments sprinkled in too but they never occur with his family

The two most memorable moments we have are shown in “Portaled Jacked” with Senor Hueso and during his one-on-one conversation with Casey

Why these two characters and not one of his close family members?

Because it’s easier talking about problems to strangers and people who don’t know you as they have no previous knowledge or connotations of you to fall back on and there’s no feelings of burden or guilt if you believe the topic will never be discussed with them again. There’s less feelings of consequences that comes with being vulnerable towards people who don’t know you well. Because if you open up more to the people who do, the risk that their opinion of you will change gets higher

Then we add in the fact that Leo is already extremely guarded of his emotions. He doesn’t want his brothers to think less of him because he already isn’t confident of his place in the team already and thus doesn’t confide in them

•Deflecting with Humor

And then the two moments where we do see little slips in Leo’s carefully constructed masks that occur around his family, which we can find in “Minotaur Maze” and “Many Unhappy Returns”

He ends up immediately backtracking and deflecting with humor, thus changing the subject and preventing anyone from delving into it further and reacting to the quips instead

“You know it’d really help me if you guys said that I was your champion.” “Just open it!”

“This whole situation was my plan all along. If it wasn’t, then why’d I ask your tailor to make me this outfit?” “So we could both perish looking super fly?”

What makes it worse is that Leo has such a habit of doing it that his family expects it, which then causes them to believe there’s no underlying issues beneath the surface and thus don’t react accordingly. (with the addition that both parties had valid reasons for being upset with him at the time)

But it causes a situation of Leo internalizing his emotions, and if he doesn’t expand on the topic himself, then his family won’t see a reason to either nor think there’s an issue to begin with

•The Movie

To add onto this point, we see Raph and Leo arguing over Leo’s role as leader. As usual Leo deflects the argument with humor and avoids the situation. But we can see during the argument that how Leo privately lets down his guard and for a second the audience is able to see how he’s really reacting to Raph’s words. However, it is apparent that Raph doesn’t see this side of him and most likely never really has

“You just don’t get it Leo”

Now as the audience it is very easy to draw to the conclusion that Leo has clear issues with his role as the leader and most likely many insecurities regarding it thus why he acts the way he does. Like any other serious situation, he copes with, he deflects with humor and tries to avoid it

This argument then implies that in the two years since Leo was made leader of the group, he never revealed his internal issues with it and never made it apparent to his brothers either because he hates being vulnerable

The face man role works for him because it requires skillful work in that you can manipulate people the way you want to without ever letting them know what your thinking. And Leo carries that role with him when it comes to his brothers and family as well. But this doesn’t work out for him anymore when he becomes the leader and communication becomes so important to the team. (I talk about this more on a different post)

Thus the events of the movie and why things played out the way they did

Naturally he learns how to trust in his team more when the situation becomes dire enough that he realizes he can no longer keep deflecting

But even after all the traumatic events that he went through. When it comes to the one time we see him really cry. He still only lets himself cry when he’s completely alone within the prison dimension

TLDR: Leo’s role as the face man is kept on both on and off duty as we find that he is really one of the most emotionally guarded out of all of his brothers as he doesn’t want to let them know what he’s really feeling out of fear that they might think less of him as he is already insecure of his placement in the group and would rather confide in people who don’t know him well over his family where he runs the risk of them treating him differently

Honestly, “Mr. Emotionally Unavailable” has some real competition ahead of him

If we were being completely blunt, all of the brothers have trouble when it comes to letting go of their real emotions, Donnie just being out of his depth with them and it being uncomfortable, Raph wanting to be strong for his brothers, and Mikey most likely wanting to focus on his brother’s emotions over his own as the Therapist of the group, but i believe the Leo definitely has the worst case out of all of them.

#back at it with the long winded analysis #can you guess which turtle i kin the most lmfao #they all need sm therapy fr tho #there's a lot more i wanted to add but it was getting kind of longggg #rottmnt #rise of the tmnt #rise leo #rottmnt leo #leo angst #rottmnt angst #rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles #tmnt 2018 #save rottmnt #rottmnt analysis #character analysis

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earthytzipi · 1 year

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hm. gotta be honest, i don't understand why people characterize donnie as hiding his emotions in fandom. I feel like, maybe it's just a misunderstanding of autism in general? so here, have an internet-speak version of a character analysis:

first, you guys need to know that alexithymia makes it so you're not processing your emotions. which can fool you into thinking you don't have them at all, even if you're actively demonstrating emotions. and this can contribute to flat affect, especially if you only have a flat affect on occasion.

I would not say it's common for people with alexithymia to be deliberately hiding emotions. I'm not even sure it's possible for a lot of us, honestly. if all I can identify is "bad," at best, how am I supposed to smoothly hide my emotions behind an inscrutable expression? if that happens, it's not on purpose.

donnie definitely has alexithymia. see:

donnie has never once in canon tried to hide his emotions, at least to my knowledge. he never shows signs of being embarrassed by genuine emotion- surprised, maybe, but not embarrassed. hiding them is not something someone whose: "oh, uh, I'm really... sad?," the best he can do to mimic an emotion he's not feeling, would be able to do. he's canonically a terrible liar, too: "what??! I said mystic-free!!"

if nothing else, "I don't normally feel things but that one got through" should be an indicator that he's not hiding his emotions. it's, again, not that he isn't *having* them (he so is) but that he's not *processing* them as emotions.

I'm not sure if this is just another "allistic and autistic people have a serious communication barrier where both sides fail to understand the other," or what. I would just love to stop seeing that characterization in fandom 😅 also GIFS! to prove my point. a character who was unfeeling/deliberately hiding their emotions would not be like... this whole situation: