Rottmnt Analysis - Tumblr Posts

Rottmnt analysis

So, in the episode Pizza Puffs(season 2 episode 5b), Leo, Donnie, Mikey, and Meat Sweats all consumed a Mystic poison (that was in some pizza puffs). They all had different side effects, and I think that's because the poison used their personality against them.

For example, Donnie names a lot of things after himself.

Donnie: So I build, behold Donnie Town! Donnie : Also known as Donnie-apolis, Donnie Estates, Park La Donnie, Donna-Stan, Notre-Don or Donnie-Stan to Noble I still haven't landed on one... 

Announcer: Really a last minute entry. Introducing Dronatello!

Shelldon: Dronatello? Donnie? What are you doing here?

It only makes sense to give him another being that is related to him but not the same as him. He did even go on to name this "TummyTello".

Mikey, with all his Razzmatazz, flips, and tricks, is incredibly flexible, almost like he doesn't have bones or his bones are incredibly flexable.

Mikey: This situation calls for a dose of my psycho-acrobatics!"

This is why his side effect from the poison was jelly bones.

Leo's personality is often based on him being the face man. He talks a lot about his looks and some could say he implys a lot of time (if he doesn't just say it) that he is "on fire", with both his looks and his actions.

Leo: Leon’s on fire tonight boys. 

This is why he is literally on fire as a result of the poison.

The poison also played with his love of puns. At one point he said, "I don't feel so hot," and then his head caught of fire almost immediately after.

As for meat sweats, we all know that he is (a little more than) a bit narcissistic.

Meat sweats: Look at me boat race. All sorts of handsome is me.

This is why, when he ate the poisoned pizza puffs, he had a bunch of himself on his body. This is because all he thinks about is himself.

Going off of this, what do you think Raph's side effect would have been if he had eaten some of the pizza puffs?

If you got here, thank you for reading.

Being Big Red

Rise Ramblings #312

In “What Was Meant To Be” and “What They Became,” I discuss how the turtles were created by Draxum to be weapons and then how the boys were embraced by Splinter to be a part of the Hamato clan.

I also discussed how Splinter viewed television as a window into his former life. He used television as a means to drown himself in a never-ending cycle of reminiscing the past and mourning his former self.

Splinter’s crushing depression, though never voiced, impacted the turtles’ emotional growth and development. As a result, all four brothers had to cope with their father’s lack of attention and his expectations for their lives in their own way…

However, I believe that no one had more pressure placed on them than Raphael Hamato.

Raphael is naturally easy-going, sweet, fun-loving, and supportive. But, as the oldest/biggest turtle, he became the impromptu leader of their little team by default. Consequently, he takes on several different roles for the sake and well-being of his family.

Their day-to-day training regimen is directed completely by him.

He is the boys' moral compass and who they go to for guidance.

He's the team’s backbone, support, and backup, which often cumulates in him acting as a physical shield when things get rough.

And, most significantly, Raph is the leader even when he himself wants nothing more than to crumble to pieces.

Raph is so physically imposing, strong-willed, and devastatingly kind-hearted that it’s easy to expect these roles from him.

But, Raph is also just a child.

In reality, these roles should never have been Raph’s to bear…

Parentification is a process in which a child or adolescent is forced to act as a parent to their siblings (or to their actual parent) through providing emotional support (Emotional Parentification) or physical support (Instrumental Parentification) in order to maintain the household.

I believe that Raphael was subjected to both, but was especially subjected to the former.

All of the roles described above are the roles of a supportive parent to their children (or Sensei to their students.) To verify this claim, you needn’t look further than the roles that Splinter encompassed in any other iteration.

With Raph, none of this responsibility comes naturally. He has to work hard to live up to the pressures and expectations placed onto him, resulting in a dissonance between his responsibilities and his true nature.

I believe that you can see the evidence of this dissonance in his chosen form of dress.

Have you noticed that when Raph casually dresses himself, he mostly wears white?

Even Donnie picked up on this trend when he chose outfits for his brother in "The Clothes Don't Make The Turtle." (See "The Fashionista" for a full breakdown on Donnie's impeccable fashion sense.✨)

Yet, when Raphael is filling a role, or dressing to impress others, Red is his automatic go-to.

It’s almost as if the title of “The Red One” was not one that he chose, but one that was merely placed onto him.

But I digress...

Raph is able to be a pseudo-parent to his brothers and serves to fill in the gaps that their actual father could not fill. However, with no outlet for his own insecurities, all of that pressure had no relief.

And, if you understand chemistry, pressure, with no release, creates an explosion.

“Acting out” is an unhealthy defense mechanism in which one expresses their unacceptable feelings through physical actions.

In this case, the "unacceptable feeling" is disappointment, not at his brothers, or with his father, or with any external force, but with himself. And with no outlet and with no one to turn to for support, that disappointment turns into red hot anger.

He’s so disappointed with himself, in fact, that he reaches his breaking point.

Then finally, finally, he opens up.

And at long last, he gets the support he so desperately needed.

Thus, he is able to ultimately let it all go...

It's so lovely to see that his family does not disappoint.

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Next | Being Baby Blue • Being Purple ○ Part One • Being Purple ○ Part Two • Orange, Baby!

Being Baby Blue

Rise Ramblings #313

Leonardo Hamato is…an interesting individual.

As a middle child, he doesn’t have to shoulder the responsibilities of the oldest, nor is he fawned upon or babied over like the youngest. Therefore, he ends up having more of a lackadaisical approach to life.

In his free time, instead of training like Raph, Leo can normally be found reading comic books.

And for good reason! Someone has to be up on the latest issues of Jupiter Jim and his space odysseys.

But, other than being a Jupiter Jim superfan, who is Leonardo Hamato?

If you ask Leo, he's...*takes out a list*: “Primetime,” “First,” “The Best,” “Number One,” “The Champion,” or some other iteration of all of the above.

...Huh. Anyways...

Of course, the first thing Leo would tell you is that he's the team's "Face Man."

As the "Face Man," he’s the one that turns up the charm when they need to schmooze their way out of, or into, something.

He's the face of the group! It's a very important title, right?

Well, in this scene with Hueso, we learn what Leo really feels about his place on the team.

"There's no team with just a face man." "I'm nothing without them."

Hmm. If he thinks that he is nothing without his brothers, then what's the deal with all of this "Number One" and "Champion" talk?

I believe that Leo is exhibiting a form of Reaction Formation.

Reaction Formation is a primitive defense mechanism that involves transforming one's unacceptable feelings or emotions into the opposite.

"Solicitude may be a reaction-formation against cruelty...romantic notions of chastity and purity may mask crude sexual desires, altruism may hide selfishness, and piety may conceal sinfulness."

Leo has been creating these grandiose titles and this larger-than-life persona for himself as a means to cope with his feelings of insecurity, his anxieties, and combat his self-deprecation.

Gee, forming a larger-than-life persona to counteract their suppressed feelings also reminds me of someone else we know…

But, I digress...

Behind the fabrications, his insecurities, who he pretends to be, and who he wants to be, the real Leo is still on display, starting as early as the first episode.

He's attentive, he understands the team's strengths and weaknesses, he assesses situations, he comes up with great plans on the fly, and he is a voice of reason.

These are all the characteristics of a great leader.

However, something happens when he’s actually appointed as such.

There he goes again. He's cocky, arrogant, and act's as if he's unphased even by the prospect of loosing his brothers. If this is Reaction Formation, then what is he trying to mask with these behaviors?

Previously, he was masking his insecurities, his anxieties, and his self-deprecation, but with the faces he pulls when he thinks no one can see them, I want to say the newest emotion is fear.

He is terrified of being the leader and floundering under his new responsibilities. He's scared of the consequences of his actions, and what those consequences may mean for his brothers. However, instead of voicing his insecurities, or communicating with his team, he doubles down and falls back into old habits.

The "Face Man" persona is turned up to an 11, and things get worse and worse until...

His greatest fears have been realized.

He has failed as a leader. He has failed his brothers. He has failed to stop the invasion, and they are all going to die because of his failures.

Now he's faced with the harsh reality of his own mistakes, thus he finally faces himself.

"It's scary to be responsible for the lives you protect, your team...your family. But we do it anyway because that's what it means to be a hero."

He may be speaking to Raph, but he's talking about himself.

His words are his true feelings, the same feelings that have been holding him back this entire time. By opening up, he's able to surrender to himself and let it all go.

And it's the breakthrough we all have been waiting for.

What Leo doesn't know is that through letting go, he's able to become the true face of the group he is destined to be.

He's the face of hope.

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Previous | Being Big Red

Next | Being Purple ○ Part One • Being Purple ○ Part Two • Orange, Baby!

Being Purple ○ Part One

Rise Ramblings #314

Donnie, a.k.a. Othello von Ryan, a.k.a. Bootyyyshaker9000 is one of two middle children in the Hamato Clan. While Leo, the other middle child, eventually (and inevitably) becomes the leader of their group, Donatello is free to carve out his own place on the team.

And carve he does.

He can fix anything.

He can make anything.

It doesn’t end there.

His list of talents is truly exhaustive…

And for good reason. Through him, his entire family is able to have everything that they need to survive.

His resourcefulness knows no bounds and the comfort of his brothers are his top priority…

…mostly.

His usefulness is palpable. Visible. Physical.

His contribution is his strength. Through the trench he carved out for himself, he knows his place.

He’s the tech guy. He’s the “genius.” He’s their foundation.

He’s purple.

Besides, outside of what he can do and what he can contribute, what else is there?  

Unlike his brothers, Donatello sees his usefulness to the team as what he can provide his family, and only what he can provide his family. Therefore, if they can get what he provides elsewhere, then, to him, he has no place on the team or amongst his brothers.

But why would Donnie see himself as replaceable?

Maybe, it’s the internalization of things like this:

And it’s possible that, unconsciously, it's the reason that Donatello acts the way that he does towards his tech.

Even to the point of his tech also being…replaceable.

But I digress...

I believe that Donnie's deep-set insecurity about his place in his family reveals itself through the constant search for external validation, especially from a "parent-aged adult."

Fortunately, in show, he finally realizes his true worth, and how he’s actually seen by the people that love him…

and receives the validation he’s yearned for the most.

So, where does Donatello go from here?

Well, ultimately, by the time we learn of the bad future, Donatello is already…no more. But who he became transcended his lifespan by breathing life into the very resistance itself.

He was a genius ahead of his time.

He was a loving brother; a kind, energetic, and gentle soul.

Thankfully, with the events of the movie, he can be all of those things and more...

He can be Donatello Hamato.

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Previous | Being Big Red • Being Baby Blue

Next | Being Purple ○ Part Two • Orange, Baby!

Being Purple ○ Part Two

Rise Ramblings #315

Previous | Being Purple ○ Part One This post is a continuation, so I recommend reading Part One before reading this Part Two. ••••

We’ve talked about what Donatello was and his role in the family.

But, we never examined why. Why is Donnie so gung ho on physically providing for his family?

Well, to understand why he feels that way, we need to go back to the beginning. After Splinter and the turtles were mutated, Yoshi was obviously unable to access any of the funds or resources he held as Lou Jitsu due to, you know, him now being a giant rat. He had to start life a new from the bottom of society.

We don’t know what happened during their time on the streets, but we can make some inferences as to what happened next. Splinter eventually moved the boys down into the sewers and was able find a comfortable space for himself and his little family.

Here is where I’m going to try my best to piece together the order of events regarding Donatello’s earliest contributions. I’ll be using two episodes: the season one finale, “End Game,” and the Nick web exclusive mini-episode, “Turtle Tots.”

In Turtle Tots, the family has gathered in Splinter’s room. We can also see the den through Splinter’s doorway. This home is, indeed, the home that we are familiar with in the show. Thus, we now know that at this age the boys were already living in the sewers. We also know that the den has already been outfitted with a tv, electricity, and probably some kind of cable hookup.

Is it possible that Splints did this electrical work all on his own? “End Game” gives us a clue that can lead us to an answer.

Here he is, the boy of the hour. In this picture, given the perspective, young Donnie is much shorter than Splinter. Their heights here are actually comparable to their height difference in the “Turtle Tots” clip. Therefore, I believe it’s fair to conclude that Donatello is about the same height in both instances, and likewise, relatively the same age.  

Given that new piece of information, now we can speculate further.

When you look at the room that crying Dondon is in, he’s surrounded by wires, batteries, boxes, and what appears to be little bits of tech that he was working on, hence the booboo. There’s a small rotary plane of some sort, a tiny workbench, and other bits and pieces. So, we can deduce that Donnie is familiar with electrical work and is building things for himself, even at this young age.

Donatello is already cooking.

With that evidence, I believe it’s reasonable to surmise that Donatello had a hand in hooking the den up with a refurbished TV and in wiring the house with electricity, which is such a big job for such a little guy.  

If it had stopped there, I wouldn’t bring it up, but as we can plainly see…

It never stopped. His labors are endless. Everything from the turtles’ transportation, their living space, and their comforts at home was created, built, enhanced, and refurbished by Donatello. Consequently, he internalized the idea that his usefulness equated to the safety and security of his family. And that’s just how he lived his life.

He doesn’t know any different, and I’m sure at this point he wouldn’t want any different. This is his role. This is his place. Besides, his beneficence makes his brothers happy, and his father happy, and by extension it makes him happy.

Hence, his “gift giving” love language.

If Donnie is happy, then where’s the problem?

I’m sorry, but external validation as a primary source of happiness, or even worse, as a source of self-esteem, is dangerous…

But I digress…

From the outside looking in, it’s easy to assume that his genius is best utilized as a tool for the team’s benefit. But as a child, the weight of ensuring their entire family’s physical infrastructure is a large burden to bear…and it is almost the exact definition of Instrumental Parentification.

Parentification is a process in which a role reversal occurs where the child or adolescent is obligated to act as a parent would to their siblings or to their actual parent. Instrumental Parentification involves a child assuming the responsibilities of maintaining a household through physical means. In this case, Donatello literally maintains the household.

I’ve said all of that to say this.

Donatello has been subjected to Instrumental Parentification for almost his entire life. He doesn’t know life without providing for his family, but he’s happiest when his family is comfortable and safe.

So when we ask, why does Donatello make these sacrifices for his family, the answer is obvious. Love. And that answer reigns true in the past, present, and future…

Anyways, Donatello is such a complex and intriguing character, I could go on about him forever. But I think this as good a place as any to put a pin in my deep dive on this fiery little grape, because our next dive’s focus is on the true pinnacle of the Hamato clan…

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Previous | Being Big Red • Being Baby Blue • Being Purple ○ Part One

Next | Orange, Baby!

✨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.

Socialized

Rise Ramblings #664

There are two concepts that I really appreciate in Rise of the TMNT, of which, helped to set the Rise boys apart from other iterations.

Before the start of the show, the Rise boys:

1) Already met their lifetime bestie, April O’Neal.

2) Have already journeyed topside, thus it’s no big deal.

The fact that these concepts are already established from the start helps to take away the typical stresses from the turtles’ story. Instead, the stage is set for the specific type of adventures and hijinks the Rise boys do get into, such as discovering the wonders of the Hidden City and the people that dwell therein.

I believe that there are two people we can thank for helping the boys understand the world around them.

First is Splinter and his lackadaisical parenting style.

Since he was a more relaxed father than his other incarnations, I’m sure that these boys were free to explore the world at an earlier age. Most certainly, many of their childhood adventures landed them topside, thus allowing them to have experiences that their other versions were unable to have.

The second person is April.

What does April have to do with their upbringing?

Well, I’ll show you.

- Excerpt from “Ninja Power (Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles)”

Five years from the start of the show the boys would have been 8, 9, 9, and 10. What great ages to meet their first real friend!

Growing up with April would have had a huge effect on their social development; they’d be adapted to speaking with people outside of their immediate family, they’d learn about society through first-hand experiences and not just from tv or books, and they would have gotten used to the world around them by April acting like a bridge between the sewers and topside.

This is why by the start of the show, I believe, the turtles were already so well socialized!

Mostly....mostly. 😒

Hi @birthday-cake-rockz! I hope its okay if I answer your questions here in a separate post. I definitely have some tips and thoughts for help with drawing Raph.

First of all, I recommend This free PDF of the book "Morpho - Fat and Skin Folds: Anatomy for Artist" for those who are interested in really getting familiar & comfortable with drawing larger/fat/thick body types. (Make sure you click the second link, the first one is broken)

Now for Raph specifically, I do have a one very important shape I use when I draw him that might be helpful:

A lot of people like to associate diamonds with Raph as much as squares, and I think that's accurate to his design, too! The boy has a lot of serious neck muscle going on, and so his trapezius muscles and those surround it are gonna be more visible. Which actually creates a diamond shape around his collarbone and upper body. If you follow along with the angles of his shell, you can create this shape to help give him that stronger upper body look!

As for his leg proportions, that's a bit tricky because unlike his brothers, Raph's lower limbs are disproportionate to his upper limbs. It's a case of "you have to understand the rules of anatomy in order to break them".

SO!! Real quick anatomy lesson that I learned in art school: the average adult body should be about 7 heads high. Because the boys are teenagers, theirs come up to be about 6 heads high, which I credit to their younger age. But as you can see by the red marked areas, everything is still in normal proportion.

Raph, on the other hand, is different.

Raph's arms are as long as his body is, and his legs are much shorter than his arms. Because of this, he's actually disproportionate to his brothers, since his height is only about 5 and a half heads tall, rather than 6 or 7. In particular, his thighs seem to be unequally shorter in length than the calves. I think its important to keep that in mind when draw him! Because even if you know he's made up of all these thick, blocky shapes, if you try to give him the normal proportions you would Leo or Donnie or Mikey, it might still not look right. He's a stocky lad, and his upper body strength is showcased by these design choices.

Hope all this was helpful for you guys. Now go be free and draw him to your hearts content! :)

Additionally, here are several other links to posts people have created that give references of Raph and the other turtles! I'm sure these will be a big help, too.

High Quality Reference Sheets of everyone, including April and Splinter

Turtle Side Profiles Specifically

Multi-Angle Ref Sheets

RAPH'S SHELL

MASTERPOSTS by @melancholic-rowen: RAPH | LEO | DONNIE | MIKEY | APRIL | CASEY | CASEY JUNIOR

things I liked about the episode “Bad hair day”

Leo just wanting a day to relax and take a break from being comic relief. Me too man

And his little outfit is just ashahsgsbbsvavgh

The fact that he wears more clothes is just hilarious to me. Like

The Octopus man is literally an Elton John reference

The “I’m still learning special” made me bust out laughing on first and every rewatch

The name “last resort” is genius

And him laying in the sun is such an (unintentional) turtle thing. Soaking in rays and absorbing warmth just reflects the fact that he’s a turtle. Little man.

I had to add this picture of Raph doing the same I mean LOOK AT HIM ^v^

also WHY DOES LEO LOOK SO GOOD WITH HAIR?!? LIKE ?!? HELLO?!?

Silly boy <3

he just consumes chocolate off of his feet like nobody’s problem.

I can relate when watching the hair start to strangle him. Personally I have very long and thick hair and it deserves its own zip code. My hair will get into my food, my mouth, eyes, and rip regular rubber bands. I have to tie my hair down so it doesn’t strangle me

^that’s me

Also. When I was watching this ep for the first time and watched him say

“Looks like this tortoise…beat the hair”

I started to laugh and wheeze so hard that I had to lean onto my dresser for support. I started coughing and choking and crying and rolling on the floor pounding my first into the floor and my sister thought I was dying. Maybe it’s just me being hysterical but in my opinion that joke was THE BEST JOKE In the entire show.

there are probably some other things I missed or forgot but that was it for the most part. Seriously, I love this show, I could gush on about it forever. You hear that, Nickelodeon? Where are all the SpongeBob fanfics and fan comics and AU’s and AMV’s, huh? Wait, THERE IS’NT ANY. Just Rerun old SpongeBob episodes and bring back what the CROWD DEMANDS. Because we all have our pitchforks in hand

If I don’t get rise back I will disintegrate

One thing I love about rise Raph is his first instinct to protect his family. Sometimes it makes him an overbearing parental figure when he’s the oldest there. Being the eldest myself, my first reaction was to stand close to my siblings and hold/guard them (in the few times something was seriously life-threatening or paralyzing). I was terrified myself once, I wanted to cry so badly, but I lashed out and yelled and defended my sisters, and held them so they could cry on someone first.

maybe it’s just me, maybe not everyone who’s the oldest sibling feels like this. But I do. It’s honestly what makes this Raph so special, what forced him in the temporary position of leadership, even when he wasn’t fit for it.

This one is in appreciation of @risestarkiss!!!!! Their incredible, in depth analysis of themes, tropes, and little details that make the show what it is are truly top notch.

I wanted to do a sketch of them, to show my adoration, and we ended up creating this little diddy! ( I sent stars, they sent this amazing character). Thank you again Vee, can't wait to read more :)

We've got you doll! Keep going!

Picking up the pieces...

Hi everyone! Hopefully you guys find me.

This is Vee, aka RiseStarKiss! 💜✨

My RiseStarKiss blog was inexplicably deleted this morning. I'm in the process of talking with tumblr to see why...

So, I'll be posting my Rise Ramblings here, therefore, please follow me here for more Rise Ramblings and beyond. In the meantime, if anyone has a relogged version of a "Rise Ramblings" can you reblog them again with @RiseStarKissOmega in the body?

Also, I'll be changing my blog slightly due to this inconvenience in hopes of preventing this sort of thing from happening again.

So please spread the word and stay tuned...It'll be fun, I promise!

Also, if you have any suggestions on what I can do to get my former blog restored, I'm all ears. (Also, send messages and encouragement. I'm a little downtrodden. 😔💜 )

I’m in too deep- and no one can stop me… ANATOMY OF THE TURTLES! You are 100% allowed to use this as reference or add on if you think there is something I may have missed. Please credit me if you repost this anywhere thats not a simple reblog. I worked hard on this and I hope it shows! 

Krang Will Rise

I have a couple theories, regarding the Krang.

There is such little evidence for it, that I don’t even think there’s evidence against it. But hear me out.

I think only Krang prime can abolish mystics. It’s not an ability tied to every Krang, only to him.

Thé Krang value strength above all else, putting no remorse into losing those deemed weak. As such, wouldn’t that make Krang Prime, their leader, the strongest? And what better way to deem yourself the strongest than carrying a unique ability that takes away your enemies greatest potential threat.

Another reason: it seems there are three types of krang. The biotech, the warrior, and the interrogator. I’m not sure how much they overlap, but I do think they carry specialities. Given krang brother is most often asked to- spread their krangness. He is responsible for krangification, domain expansion, and manipulating the technology they have (Nevermind how all these abilities make him the perfect match for Donnie)(also think Krang Brother is mute). Krang sister is the most skilled and best fighter. I’m sure she outclasses the boys in that regard. I’d go as far to say she’s second in command, leading the charge while brother krang stays behind (her role as commander matches as Commander O’Niels opposite in war, hence their quarrel). Leaving Krang Prime, who has the ability to dig into a persons mind, manipulate their captives, control the hive mind, and abolish mystic powers. Perhaps rare amongst Krang, this makes them the perfect leader (do I even need to explain why he’s Leo’s main antagonist, his opposite in every way?).

I mentioned how krang brother is likely responsible for krangification, which leads me to a second point. Clearly, from the start of the invasion to the end in the bad timeline, the krangs numbers increased 100 fold. From 3 lone survivors to hundreds if not more. Which has led me to wonder how krang are created. I have two theories: 1) in the bad timeline, the krang in the prison dimension didn’t die. Meaning that when Leo grabbed the key in the movie, and altered time, the resulting explosion caused the krang to be wiped out. 2) the probably more likely one- they repopulated.

Thé krang are clearly parasitic creatures. Meaning their reproduction is likely from a source, that source being humans. “Recreating this world in the image of krang.” Krang possession is simple, and any krang can do it, latch a bit of themselves to a human and start the battle of wills. Krang dogs are amother easier way to make more, a quick process that mangles the hosts body. We see this happen with the foot clan. But if you want powerful krang, with no chance to turn on you, and to truly become one with krang, you transform them.

Raph was found in a bubble. In a slimy krang cocoon stuck to the ceiling and filled with glowing yellow goop. He was going to be turned, transformed into Krang. And he was going to be powerful, his source material being stronger than most. He was- until the process was interrupted. Notice how the krangification didn’t come from the outside, it wasn’t attached, it was growing inside him. And, unlike the other krangified peoples we saw, his eye turned purple. It wasn’t just covered in hoop with the yellow hive mind eye, it was purple. Let it be a testament to Raphs inner strength cause he very well may have accomplished a feat deemed impossible to overcome. The process wasn’t supposed to be reversible, he wasn’t supposed to be able to break free, he was krang now. Krang Prime could feel his struggle, sense his resistance, and hear his thoughts as the turtle fought it off.

Once you turned, there was no going back. You were krang. Your old life didn’t matter. Your old friends didn’t matter. You had a new family. A new purpose to fulfill. New powers to explore. And given treasures for the hunt. The mark of a krang and a fucking massive piece of armor. This way of reproduction was useful when hunting new prey, as their knowledge of the species past through, truly allowing them to know their enemies and conquer planets. Krang can never die.

Then again. I could be wrong.

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Thanks for reading! Likes and Reblogs appreciated! Other related theories and stories:

Resistance to Krang; The Shredder armor; Emperym Life Blood

So I wanted to try to make a theory/analysis post on something I've wondered for a while: What the fuck are the Krang made of? Yeah that's literally my intro to this. Can I make smooth transitions? Absolutely not.

So starting out chronologically with their introduction, the majority of their animation shows smooth movements from their tentacles, basically like tentacles irl lmao. But further into that fight scene..

We can see their tentacles also strong enough to double as blades, able to stand up against (and nearly overpower) Leo's swords, and able to stab through Raph's shell. The material isn't exactly consistent in how solid it can be, able to go from the fluid movement of the tentacles, to sharp enough to function as a blade. This leads me to think their flesh is able to shapeshift in some minor ways, especially considering the way the tentacle shifts to become sharper as the Krang's leg is about to stab Leo.

And considering how goopy Krang 2 looks after being.. basically melted by April, it does show that at the very least their natural state of flesh is more fluid. Another interesting detail about this scene, and the way Krang 2 is animated after the attack that sort of feeds into the shapeshifting theory..

Back in the finale we're shown the skull of one of the Krangs. Yet after Krang 2 has her eye melted off, we see no hint of the skull. That could either just be from not wanting to add that much detail into the animation, which to be fair it would've likely given more extra work to animation that's already amazingly detailed as it is. OR- It could be from the flesh melting around the skull to keep it from being exposed. If we can see their bodies practically shift states of matter, and see Krang 3 use his own body to expand the portal, is it that much of a stretch to say they can shift their state of flesh to cover vulnerable parts of their body after being injured?

And another thing this screenshot helps to show, their bodies don't seem to all be made from the same material specifically. Normally I'd assume all the pinks/purples are the same type of flesh but I actually don't think it is. Their tounges specifically are shown to always be sharp, a slightly darker shade with the sort of lines and stripes covering it. Keep this part in mind.

After the Foot Clan get transformed into these creatures, it actually gives us further evidence on how the krang's flesh functions. When possessing humans, the Krang pieces sort of fuse and meld with human flesh. Whether it's adding on pieces, or, like with the stomach here, changing its shape entirely. But notice how they have those additions while still keeping the same colors their skin and bodies used to be.

But when Raph gets possessed? The Krang flesh doesn't fuse with his body at all. It's more of an add-on, especially with the way his arm back there shows the original shape of his hands, while still being covered in the Krang's pink. That, and his body isn't even the same color of pinks either. Some pieces are darker, and some don't even seem to be the same shape. Like I mentioned with the Krang's tounges earlier, I think those spikes on his arms and back are made of that same material. Darker color, lines and stripes, permanently spiked.. Sounds right to me.

Even in this scene, the colors of the tounge seem to match up, a lot of pieces attatched to his body fit into that, maybe that fleshy state inbetween transforming from fluid to solid? His tounge seems to be the only part of those spiked pieces that's able to mimic fluid movements, the rest seems to be solid in place. It definitely seems to be a different type of flesh, considering how the flesh around it seems to part instead of melding together.

As for the Krang's armor.. I was confused about it before but now that I think more about how the Krang themselves are built it's starting to make more sense. Essentially I think there's 3 main components to pay attention to. The darker gray of the chest and shoulderpads seem to be simple armor plates, made of some type of alien metal I assume.

The darkest blacks of the armor seem to just be the base pieces of the suit. I've seen theories it's partially organic, with the way it bleeds black liquid after Leo stabs into it, and honestly, that seems like a really good answer. I'm not sure if it's flesh with the black suit on top of it, or if that dark black with the markings is actually its natural state. (Though, side note, it makes me even more curious HOW they would've aquired or created this armor. Their tech is mostly made of flesh, sure, but with another theory about the Technodrome having a mind of its own, willing to let Donnie merge with it and control the ship.. It does make me wonder if their armor is made from the corpse of another being, or if they simply know how to create and generate flesh, and were able to mold it for their purposes.)

Anyway- The white pieces of the armor seem to be bone to me. What with the head looking like a skull, the tail having bone-structure and being animated that way, less smooth than everything else, jerking around each piece. But here's what makes it confusing, the gloves.

There's a couple scenes where the hand has folds on it. Yet the rest of the arm seems pretty solid, and the material must be solid enough to form claws at the end, so, what the hell is it?? This is what stumps me the most, it seems to be made of fabric and bone at the same time, I really don't understand it. The only real answer I have is that the material is comparable to the base body of the Krang. Flesh that's able to mold between different states, able to take that solid, bone-like appearance, to form claws at the end.. While still being moldable enough it's able to bend and fold like the tentacles can. Potentially, it's mostly solid and bone-like, but the pieces that need to be able to move are more flesh-like. The wrist and hands have more folds because they move more, and tend to get stuck in that state to move with the body, while the plates, spikes, and claws are able to be stuck in their solid states.

I dunno how to write conclusions, but that's most of what I'm able to observe for what the Krang are made of, and why pieces of their body function the way they do. Not only are they futuristic, they're also alien, so it's natural to assume they're just advanced enough to be capable of breaking these rules materials in our world have to stick to.

In Mikey's words: "Time Travel is Confusing! :("

I am. So confused about the story Casey Junior told the team in the movie, I thought about it too hard a while back and it hasn't left me alone. He said: "From atop their perch on New York City, the Krang ripped open the sky itself. What came out was terror, and what rained down was worse than death"

Which tells us a couple things about the Bad Future Timeline, as far as I can see:

The Krang were the one to 'rip open the sky itself'. They opened the portal according to the survivors of the Invasion. There's no mention of the Foot opening the portal at all. This implies that, much like the movie, in the BFT the Krang were released by the Foot during the ritual but the Technodrome came later.

This leads into my next point, which is that Casey says 'from atop New York City'. In the BFT, the Mad Dogz wouldn't have gotten there in time to stop the ritual bc they were too busy having a Raph vs Leo nightly special, and Leo wouldn't have gotten the Key. So the Krang would have no reason to relocate to a higher position than the island they were released from.

Unless of course, they couldn't stop the Krang from escaping, but they stole the Key and managed to escape without losing Raph (Casey said that didn't happen in his time, and I'm inclined to believe him) before the Technodrome was released. Without Casey to impose upon them the Horrors of the BFT though, they'd still lose the Key and then the Krang might've been able to go about their plan unhindered- leading straight into the other events of the timeline unhindered.

If you guys have any other theories about what happened in the Bad Future timeline, I'd love to hear about it! I've been thinking about what Casey said and what it might mean for way too long.

Being Baby Blue

Rise Ramblings #313

Leonardo Hamato is…an interesting individual.

As a middle child, he doesn’t have to shoulder the responsibilities of the oldest, nor is he fawned upon or babied over like the youngest. Therefore, he ends up having more of a lackadaisical approach to life.

In his free time, instead of training like Raph, Leo can normally be found reading comic books.

And for good reason! Someone has to be up on the latest issues of Jupiter Jim and his space odysseys.

But, other than being a Jupiter Jim superfan, who is Leonardo Hamato?

If you ask Leo, he's...*takes out a list*: “Primetime,” “First,” “The Best,” “Number One,” “The Champion,” or some other iteration of all of the above.

...Huh. Anyways...

Of course, the first thing Leo would tell you is that he's the team's "Face Man."

As the "Face Man," he’s the one that turns up the charm when they need to schmooze their way out of, or into, something.

He's the face of the group! It's a very important title, right?

Well, in this scene with Hueso, we learn what Leo really feels about his place on the team.

"There's no team with just a face man." "I'm nothing without them."

Hmm. If he thinks that he is nothing without his brothers, then what's the deal with all of this "Number One" and "Champion" talk?

I believe that Leo is exhibiting a form of Reaction Formation.

Reaction Formation is a primitive defense mechanism that involves transforming one's unacceptable feelings or emotions into the opposite.

"Solicitude may be a reaction-formation against cruelty...romantic notions of chastity and purity may mask crude sexual desires, altruism may hide selfishness, and piety may conceal sinfulness."

Leo has been creating these grandiose titles and this larger-than-life persona for himself as a means to cope with his feelings of insecurity, his anxieties, and combat his self-deprecation.

Gee, forming a larger-than-life persona to counteract their suppressed feelings also reminds me of someone else we know…

But, I digress...

Behind the fabrications, his insecurities, who he pretends to be, and who he wants to be, the real Leo is still on display, starting as early as the first episode.

He's attentive, he understands the team's strengths and weaknesses, he assesses situations, he comes up with great plans on the fly, and he is a voice of reason.

These are all the characteristics of a great leader.

However, something happens when he’s actually appointed as such.

There he goes again. He's cocky, arrogant, and act's as if he's unphased even by the prospect of loosing his brothers. If this is Reaction Formation, then what is he trying to mask with these behaviors?

Previously, he was masking his insecurities, his anxieties, and his self-deprecation, but with the faces he pulls when he thinks no one can see them, I want to say the newest emotion is fear.

He is terrified of being the leader and floundering under his new responsibilities. He's scared of the consequences of his actions, and what those consequences may mean for his brothers. However, instead of voicing his insecurities, or communicating with his team, he doubles down and falls back into old habits.

The "Face Man" persona is turned up to an 11, and things get worse and worse until...

His greatest fears have been realized.

He has failed as a leader. He has failed his brothers. He has failed to stop the invasion, and they are all going to die because of his failures.

Now he's faced with the harsh reality of his own mistakes, thus he finally faces himself.

"It's scary to be responsible for the lives you protect, your team...your family. But we do it anyway because that's what it means to be a hero."

He may be speaking to Raph, but he's talking about himself.

His words are his true feelings, the same feelings that have been holding him back this entire time. By opening up, he's able to surrender to himself and let it all go.

And it's the breakthrough we all have been waiting for.

What Leo doesn't know is that through letting go, he's able to become the true face of the group he is destined to be.

He's the face of hope.

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Previous | Being Big Red

Next | Being Purple ○ Part One • Being Purple ○ Part Two • Orange, Baby!

Finale | Being Hamato Yoshi

So a little while ago me and my friend @latersgayt0rs kinda realized something about the ROTTMNT movie.

Leo’s plan at the end made perfect sense.

And I don’t mean that from a writing standpoint— of course that made sense for plot purposes— I mean from an in-universe perspective. Leo’s perspective.

People say it was suicidal, or say he didn’t have to do it that way, which is a totally valid interpretation! But me and Ferr saw it a little differently.

So, let's look at all the facts of the situation. After regaining their ninpo, the turtles all fought Krang Prime (or, Krang One) with everything they had. EVERYTHING.

Donnie fired that big barrage of missiles, Mikey threw an entire goddamn SKYSCRAPER at him! Everyone gave it their all, but when they combined their powers and tried to punch Krang Prime with ALL of that—

He stopped them by simply flicking his fingers. He knocked Donnie and Mikey off the building, both unable to catch themselves so Raph of course had to go save them.

And Leo was left alone.

With all of that prior information, what else was Leo really supposed to do in that situation? 

Sure, he could ask where the others landed and form a portal to get them back up there, but again; Everything. They threw EVERYTHING they had at Krang Prime, and he flung them away like it was nothing. Who’s to say he wouldn’t just do that again? Or kill someone?

Not to mention Leo had to be exhausted. It was nighttime when the movie began, then daytime in the middle, then it looked pretty dark when everything was going on at the end. Maybe that was just dust and debris kicked up by the Technodrome, but hours had passed with no sleep, no rest, only action. Only fighting.

Leo went from the first fight to the Krang to the subway tunnels fight, to the stuff that happened in Metro Tower, to his 1v1 with Raph, to this fight with little to no breaks in between. Physically at least; again, he did not sleep between these times. And emotions had to be going INSANE after Raph was taken.

How do we know he even had the energy to make enough portals to get everyone back up there then be able to portal them/himself around during the fight? 

So, Leo was tired. Leo knew how strong Prime was. And most importantly, he knew the stakes.

If Krang Prime was not stopped here, then the entire world would be destroyed. His family would be killed. Everyone would die.

Leo had NO choice. There was no other choice, no other option for him. No other route to take. 

He HAD to lock Krang Prime back in the Prison Dimension. And the only way for him to do that and keep him inside was to teleport them both.

There was no other alternative that would have worked.

Leo Analysis

There’s a popular reading in the Rise fandom that Leo is the strategist of his brothers, but I’d like to propose a counter-theory that, while Leo can be strategic, his actual skillset is in deception, manipulation, and perception. In other words, Leo is good at things involving people.

(Hey, uh, this is pretty long)

In the show, Leo shows a preference to following others’ leads rather than strategize himself. In One Man’s Junk, Leo is the only brother that doesn’t actually think up a plan to find more mystic metal, instead picking sides on who’s plan he thinks is better. This is seen again in Late Fee, where Raph and Donnie being the ones who formulate a plan to return the DVD. Again, in the season 2 finale, E-Turtle Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (god that is long), Leo doesn’t come up with a plan to defeat the Shredder, he instead made everyone turn to Raph for one [2:15]. This all follows a pattern that Leo admits in Battle Nexus: New York, "And we'll do it with our special brand of teamwork: where my brothers do the work but we share equal credit" [1:10]. He’s very lazy (I mean this affectionately), and prefers to follow someone else’s lead. The final nail in the coffin is the movie, where Leo is very distinctly not the one who comes up with the plan to lock away the Kraang. While admittedly that moment is from him learning to build others up rather than try to do everything himself, Leo is clearly characterized to not tend to strategize.

However, there are episodes where he does plan. A notable example being Many Unhappy Returns, where Leo planned ahead around Big Mama to trick her into giving them the mystic collar. Another is The Hidden City Job, where Leo pretended to be a statue to get into Big Mama’s vault in her auction. There’s also Origami Tsunami, where Leo briefly took the leader position, and planned the fake paper shop to catch the paper thieves. Smaller examples include, Man Vs Sewer (two attempts of snapping Raph out of his savage state), Bug Busters (freeing his brothers), and the movie (teleporting Kraang Prime into the portal). However, one commonality in all those schemes is that they’re all deceptions (okay, except for Man Vs Sewer but I have a whole other reason for that). In Many Unhappy Returns, Leo isn’t so much as being strategic but manipulative, understanding who Big Mama is, foreseeing that she’ll shove him in the arena with his dad, and planning around that by appearing stupid. He tricked her into cutting a deal in his favor (allowing him to have a weapon in the arena [17:25]). In The Hidden City Job, Leo’s plan is basically tricking Big Mama again, pretending to be something valuable enough to belong in her vault (almost worked too well there). Origami Tsunami, Leo surmised that the bad guys would want more paper and created the fake paper store. All of those plans involved tricking the opponent based on what Leo understood of them, and they worked. Of course, planning moves around an opponent could be qualified as strategic, but these events highlighted Leo’s skill in reading and manipulating others, not as a tactician.

Again, I’m not saying Leo can’t be strategic. In Flushed But Never Forgotten, Leo’s plan to fighting Piebald is to camouflage himself with sewer sludge (gross). That’s strategic. In Bug Busters, Leo distracting the guards with an empty laundry bin to trip them into a portal he created behind them is strategic. Leo’s whole stunt with Kraang Prime and teleporting them both into the portal was sick as shit, and strategic. Hell, his whole power with the teleporting/portals requires Leo to think tactically. But, in comparison with his brothers, particularly Raph, Leo doesn’t seem that much better than them at strategizing.

What Leo is characterized to be, is manipulative. Two main examples are Air Turtle and the infamous Lair Games, where, in both, poor Donnie gets tricked by Leo to do something for Leo’s benefit. In both stunts, the emphasis was put on to Leo’s deceptive nature. In the Lair Games, Leo intentionally put his room up as a prize with the knowledge that his brothers wanted to take something important away from him, hiding the fact that that was exactly what he wanted [12:45]. In Air Turtle, he lied to Donnie’s face that he could make the last shot in order to get his own opening/spotlight [10:16, and 11:14]. Unlike with strategizing, these events are made out to be points of distinction for Leo. He’s also shown to be extremely perceptive, as @/our-happygirl500-fan user pointed out in their post of him realizing Splinter had some history with Big Mama. And being the only one to suspect Raph throwing his fight with Donnie in Sparring Partner [9:54]. This all lines up with Leo's role as a faceman, somebody who's good with people. Combined with his performance in Many Unhappy Returns, Leo is shown to be someone extremely skilled in deception, and reading others.

Tldr, I think Raph is the strategist of the group, closely followed by Donnie. And Leo’s actual strength lies in his ability with people, his perception and manipulation. He’s not a strategist, but a trickster. A lying liar who lies (I love him).

Of course, I could be extremely wrong so I would love any input or commentary, especially regarding Leo's strategist status, because I could be glaringly missing something. Thanks.

Raph Is A Great Strategist

Numerous times in the show Raph has shown to have a preference for straightforwardly punching his problems away rather than think up a more complex solution. Like how his immediate fix to getting Mayhem out of the mirror in Mystic Library was to punch everything in the bathroom but the mirror. However, when Raph understands the situation requires more in depth strategy, he’s shown to be an incredibly capable tactician.

(long post ahead!)

In nearly all the plot heavy episodes like Shadow of Evil, Many Unhappy Returns, and the season finales, Raph gets moments where he’s highlighted for his strategic thinking. In Insane in the Mama Train, he’s the one who figures out which eyeball-button goes to the front car with the dark armor, because “‘it was the only button [the Foot Clan] didn’t want me to press!’” [21:05]. He’s also the one who came up with the scheme to defeat all the (known) combatants in the train, with Leo specifically attributing Raph as the deviser during their mind meld [19:46]. In Many Unhappy Returns, after spending a single night waylaying the Shredder, Raph formulated a plan using all the tricks the team learned, seamlessly transitioning the mystic collar Leo acquired into it [19:53], to defeating the Shredder. Additionally, he’s repeatedly called for a retreat during fights, like in Shadow of Evil, Shreddy or Not (Finale pt 2), and the movie, when he can tactically recognize that a battle couldn’t be won. Each time, the show/movie implied that that was the right call, for the family to lose the fight but win the war.

And it’s not just that Raph is good at strategy when he’s pushed to be more serious; the show characterizes him as passionate about creating plans, he enjoys doing it. Literally in the first episode, Mystic Mayhem, after the turtles’ initial plan failed of getting Splinter out of the living room to touch his Do-Not-Touch Cabinet, Raph immediately started devising a new plan that involved “ten chickens [and] a gallon of rubber cement” [9:35]. It was convoluted, sure, and they didn’t end up using it, but it was inventive and the opposite of reluctant. This is also shown in Bug Busters, where Raph planned out dousing Mikey in honey to attract the oozequitoes [2:52]; Snow Day, with the idea to freeze Ghost Bear like in Jupiter Jim Pluto Vacation 4; and Raph’s Ride-Along (and also Bad Hair Day), where Mind Raph created multiple schemes to get the criminals arrested. The show wouldn’t have made Raph be so creative with his plans if they were trying to characterize him as someone who didn’t like strategizing.

So does why Raph do stupid shit sometimes where he doesn’t think things through at all? Well, even though Raph is good at strategy and enjoys doing it, it’s clear his immediate impulse is still “punch the problem in the face”. In fact, all the turtle boys contain the fascinating dichotomy of being incredibly smart in some areas, and the dumbest teenagers alive in others. Just look at Donnie. It’s also how Raph is a loving protective older brother, and the guy who shoved Leo into a wall so hard he disappeared in one frame for shits and giggles (The Mutant Menace x). None of this means that Raph is bad at strategy though.

tldr: Yeah, Raph has a lot of dumb and, frankly, insane moments in the show, but he’s still an incredible tactician who’s plans consistently saved his family and sometimes the world. He's a great strategist.