Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day!

Forgot to post these here (and I have several more lil comics coming later too) but I have some sibling shenanigans based on @sha-biest’s adorable Chosen Family AU, where the boys and Splinter meet April and her mom Carol much earlier than in canon. They’ve each got their own way to say their big sister’s name as they learn to talk.

Bonus, the daily routine:

I am in the middle of rewatching the 2003 version of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles during my summer break from college, this time with my father, who had only seen bits and pieces of it when I watched it as a child. We are currently on season four, which fans often refer to as the "post-traumatic stress disorder arc" for Leonardo, as it depicts his mental deterioration and increasing anger, even surpassing that of his notoriously hot-headed brother.

While doing the dishes, I asked my father what he thought of the arc so far. He simply said, "He seems angry." I agreed, replying, "Yeah, he's angry at himself." My father responded, "Yeah, but he's also angry at his brothers." This made me pause. I knew Leonardo had moments where he was upset with his brothers for not training enough or for goofing off, but I had not thought of him as being outright angry with them.

Then my father elaborated, "He's angry because they're not perfect, like he expects himself to be." This was a revelation for me. I had always interpreted this arc as Leonardo being angry at himself for not being good enough, but it makes a lot of sense that if he holds himself to such a high standard, he would hold his brothers to the same—and get frustrated and angry when they inevitably do not meet it.

I think a less explored aspect of this arc is that Leonardo is exhausted from carrying the burden alone and was trying to share it with his brothers. However, they do not carry it the same way he does, which does not make them lesser—it just makes them young and still wanting a life outside of crime fighting. Michelangelo captures this sentiment best in the same season when he says,”I think all of you should just lay off the poor guy. I mean, it can't be fun. Always being the responsible one, and we’re the ones who really benefit. Raph's free not to think cause Leo does all the thinking for him, Don's free to dream, And I'm free to take it easy, all cause Leonardo is busy being responsible enough for all of us.”

Anyway, at the ripe age of twenty-two and in graduate school, I find myself once again feeling melancholic over little green guys.

refuge

when you were just a little rat, small, curious, helpless, but you were shown care, love, and safety. then you witnessed the murder of the people who took you in, saw the cruelty of the world. the aftermath found you in the sewer, suddenly intelligent and mutated with four small baby turtles. so you took care of them, and tried to raise them, even though you were just learning how to be a person yourself. despite your best try to keep them all safe, the world is harsh and cruel… if you had the choice they would have never had to struggle and hurt like this….

Still thinking about brand new mutated Dad Splinter figuring out the dynamics between his children. It wasn't until I was lining some of this that I realized the unintentional angst in this cute comic, because Splinter seeing how distraught Leo and Donnie are at being separated would hit a little too close to home for him.