FFX2player

WARNING: THE FOLLOWING WAS TRANSCRIBED BY DRAGON SPEAKING NATURALLY. I think I caught all typos, but do NOT feel bad for pointing out errors and booboos. THANX.

This is a journal post basically for me to write about what my story-lines are as they stand now which are kind of screwed up because my muse is weird and never writes things one at a time and always likes to flow from thread to thread which to say the least is really really annoying.

To make it worse I've got stuff going on in both TMNT 2K3 and also 2012 which gets even more annoying.

To start with here is the TMNT 2k3 story-lines-

NOTE-Some things have titles, some are so raw they don't. Just bear with it.

Onryo: Basically an aftermath to SAINW because I felt there was a less than good emotional closure in that one. This is a sort of suspense/supernatural type. It starts with Donnie having reoccurring nightmares and of course refusing tell anyone, which eventually take on a much more sinister meaning when it's realized they are actually caused by possession, of a sort. Needless to say his brothers get involved, there's a lot of stuff that goes on and eventually they discover that he's actually being tormented by the spirit of his alternate self. This story is also a follow-up to my tragedy one shot which will be listed under this one.

And Silent Unseen Goes Down: Straight up tragedy, or a deathfic. My thoughts on what actually happened to the Donatello of the SAINW universe which, to put it mildly, is not pleasant. This actually plays into my story above which is longer. It explains how the spirit first got trapped in limbo. I've never actually written tragedy it's a genre I had honestly never touched. This was actually the first story that came to my mind after my muse came back from being on a very long vacation. Same As It Never Was actually reawakened my muse and this is what it awakened with. For some reason my muse decided what happened to Donnie in that universe(he died) I've never done this before so this will be an interesting writing exercise for me.

Interlude piece featuring Bishop: This one is pretty short, More or less yet another take on the whole “related to each other by blood” thing that pretty much everybody has done. This one isn't too long and it's basically a shameless Michelangelo and Raphael brotherly bonding pile of fluffy crap.

Bond of Brotherhood: This piece is actually one of my very long pieces. It again goes back to my first piece briefly(Onryo actually has a hazy ending with a foreshadowing of this piece). It also rewrites Ninja Tribunal because I felt there was more that could of been done there with a little mystical but focused on the internal and less on the outer magic-attack type stuff that they decided;and of course no transformation. I don't know if I will write this piece, I want to, I want to take things from the arc that I liked and remove more of what I disliked. But it's difficult to balance the mystical with the real world in this particular story. Still something I really want to do that explores why the four turtles are so close and why their family bond is so important. I want to focus on things I liked about the arc when it first started. I loved the focus on the inner powers, on the inner strengths of the individual turtles. I thought this was really cool. I love the fact that Mikey was focus and that Donnie was indicated to be wisdom (personally I would add Leo as balance and Raph obviously as strength) this would've made the season in my mind much more interesting. Instead these details were totally ignored in favor of magical weapons and magical attacks but totally ignore the point that most mysticism and practices of such things focus more on the inner and less on the outer. I felt this was a huge loss and weakness in this particular season. I had no problems with the spirit guides, for example, I had huge problems with spirit guides suddenly transforming, showing up in an overpowered form, that kind of nonsense. I had no problem with the tengu or the Council itself to a certain degree, just knowing there was a lot of potential totally ignored in favor of easy cliche writing tropes is sad.

Fast-forward wrap-up: This piece is basically like the one above, to fix things I didn't like about Fast-Forward to give Cody honestly a reason to grow up and also to do something with the dark turtles who I think really should've gotten a lot more screen time. This piece also gives a certain amount of time to the aftermath of the piece above and deals with basically what occurs there.

Ying Guardian: This one is awkward and I don't know if I will ever write it. It IS Mikey-centric, which tempts me but I'm struggling to write it in a way that doesn't repeat the problems with the tribunal and mystical powers and also doesn't fall into the realm of romance which I have issues with when involving TMNT

Not to be written

Variation on using Guardian there are two ways to write the story one is mildly romantic more angst and rather heartbreaking to the point I'm not sure if I could bring myself to do it. But the other variation is definitely romance and I don't like doing romance in TM NT

Blind Artist: Romance basically involving Leo. I like the character I came up with, I just don't like romance in TMNT, there's just too much of it and too many OCs in my opinion, so although I like the character, probably no. She's an artist who becomes blind and of course happens to be a Renaissance art scholar and her blindness leads her to respect the differences in others. It gets very complex but basically she eventually regains her sight and she and Leo have a romance has a lot of ups and downs. I like the story and the character, I just don't feel competent in writing romance. The fun part about this is it has less to do with blindness and more to do with mental effects and how one can be sent into depression which can be a different form of blindness. Also how some things are so much a part of one that without them one is utterly lost

That's most of the stuff for TMNT 2K3 I am still working on possibly doing a Donnie romance or at least for the sake of my own head. As far as Raphael goes, I always liked him with Joi, too bad they don't really get a lot of time to interact in Ninja Tribunal

TMNT 2012 Story-lines

I feel that the new series lacks a lot in angst and just emotional upheaval and growth so to rectify this I got a bit of a dark turn in these particular stories

Lab-rat: In this first story I deal with the fact that for the first couple of seasons I've personally felt that April was rather manipulative at times of Donnie to honestly a point I really hated her. To address this I actually wrote a universe in which she was secretly a sleeper agent who actually had been using them all along, especially Donnie. So of course he ends up in a lab for a week and suffers some rather nasty stuff this may or may not be connected to the next piece I haven't decided if I should separate them or make them one yet.

Those We Must Protect: In this piece it's Mikey's turn to be captured and things get a bit gritty when he meets someone who's interested in, well,l kids. I don't think I need to elaborate. NO, nothing actually happens, I'm not that disgusting, but there's a lot of threats, a lot of stress and Donnie begins to reveal some of things that happened to him in his week in the lab. Also there's a brief cameo by Cody and a couple of the dark turtles, also there's some very Raphael and Michelangelo-centric stuff that goes on with Raph's desire to always protect his brother.

On the Roof: This is the other piece of the above might be attached to I haven't decided if I wish to attach the first and second or second and third. Or just leave them separate. This one continues the darker trend, we see more of what happened to Donnie, some more brotherly bonding and hurt/comfort, but also see some much darker stuff happened as revelations continue.

Aftermath: ANOTHER undecided piece I can't decide on. LOL. The tale behind this one is, as I grew to like April in 2012 a little more, I started writing a story in which she'd actually been cloned and had been forced to watch everything that happened. In this piece the turtles and Master Splinter would travel to Japan and meet their grandfather as well as April who has, through a twist of fate, been hiding in Japan. Weird piece, haven't decided if I want to do this yet. I like this one because it is more about the fact that in 2012 quite honestly April spends more time with the turtles and Master Splinter than her own parents or parent. She really spends most of her time with them, to the point that considering she loses her family at least four or five times, they become the family that she forms ties with. I wanted to address this on a much deeper level

Leonardo and Karai: This is a very nasty piece in which we stop dancing around the subject of possibilities and what could've happened and milder forms of assault to full-blown rape and its aftermath. This is partly off of my 2K3 story-lines in which there is a complicated relationship with Leo and Karai which dances on the lines of consensual and non-consensual. Not a pretty piece and not certain I would ever write it yet but an intriguing way to explore Leo's habits of self-sacrifice, especially when it only involves him and not his brothers.

Random addition: I find myself actually toying with a TMNT 2007 story. After the movie Leo is rebuilding bridges and realizes that Raphael has bridges to rebuild with Mikey, having unfortunately burned them down rather spectacularly several months after Leo left. Total excuse for Donnie/Leo bonding because, dang it all, there just isn't enough of it!. Also total fluff bomb mixed heavily with hurt/comfort for Mikey/Raph bonding. Because I'm a sucker for all Mikey/Raph bonding stuff.

There, that's what's currently running in my brain. Any critiques/comments/random stuff to add?

I might update this later, especially if(hopefully WHEN)something actually gets written.

Why isn't it April 29 yet?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



Thank you.

So, I've decided to write a review on the newest TMNT series by Nickelodeon. I'm writing this after season 1, although at the time of this review I have started season 2. I'm trying to stick to my impressions in the 1^st season for accuracy. I'm writing this for any older fans out there or newer fans who are older in years who want to know if this series is worth checking out. Also, I'm writing it for , who asked to know what I thought of the new series if I checked it out

A little background in my knowledge of TMNT, as fast as I can make it. When the first cartoon came out I could not watch it as I was a girl and my Southern family had weird ideas about girls watching “boy cartoons”. As I had a lot of guy friends, I still saw plenty of merchandise and even learned a few names. I did watch the live action movies in the 90's and loved them to death. I then kind of forgot about the fandom to a certain degree for years, until I had a whim to watch the 2007 TMNT movie one night about a couple of months ago. From there I went to the 2014 movie. Finally, I remembered C-Puff having much to say about a cartoon series a few years ago, and asked her advice on what to watch. So I devoured the 2003 series, loved every minute of it, and here we are.

I try to break my reviews down a bit so they're easier to read. I'll start with the art style, as it kind of hits you in the face the moment you start the first episode and then on move to characters. We'll talk about music somewhere briefly, add some notes about writing, and wrap up with a “should you watch it ?” section.

WARNING:FROM HERE THERE BE SPOILERS. I WILL TRY TO KEEP IT DOWN A BIT, BUT EXPECT SOME RUINING OF AT LEAST A MAJOR PLOT POINT OR TWO. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

And without further ado...

TMNT 2012 Season 1 produced by Nickelodeon.

• Art-The art in this series is honestly rather jarring when you first watch it. That's just the truth. However, after a bit it struck me as looking a lot like paper mache or a comic book come to life. When I look at it that way, it doesn't' bug me much. The emotes are particularity comic book-ish in nature. Fortunately, they didn't go for an anime imitation on that point. Of course there's some influence, it's everywhere these days, but it doesn't feel over done, so I can live with it fairly easily. I think the best way I can put it is it STRONGLY reminds me of Little Big Planet. I like the art style that game had so I kind of like this one. Once I thought of it as comic book, it stopped being too weird.
  

• Characters: Ahh, the nitty gritty of re-adapting a fandom that has been around 20+ years. I'll start with Splinter and the Turtles and move outward in a sort of hierarchy of importance.
  

• Splinter:In this version we're back to 87's formerly human mutation. Yeah, once more Hamato Yoshi went for a walk in a dark alley with his new pet turtles, there was an accident with ooze and BOOM. Instant father of four boys! (Seriously, pity the poor guy) Splinter in this version...kind of falls a bit short of the 2k3 series. I mean he still seems to think of the turtles as sons. He even mentions at one point that he would not change his mutation, because to change it would be to loose his sons, and he would NEVER change that. And he definitely still has some awesome flashes of overprotective father syndrome(aka touch-my-kids-and-I-will-rip-your-face-off-and-feed-it-to-you)but he lacks...I don't know, something extra. That bit of fatherly affection that threaded through everything he did and said to the Turtles in the 2k3 series. It's not too bad, he just doesn't feel like he's as strong a character in this series.
  

SPOILER Below these dashed lines is a note to those who know about the Miwa incident. Or to C-puff, who mentioned it as a major thing that annoyed her. Either way, you might want to skip. Just saying. Read after the second set if you prefer to skip

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If you didn't know and you are reading this, Karai is revealed to be Miwa, Splinter's daughter from his previous life. This is a bit of an issue for fans who see it as an issue with his dynamics with the Turtles. I would like to note that at least in the first season, it's ONLY revealed at the end. After we've established that Splinter specifically would never change his new family. As far as Season 2 concerned, I've watched about 5 or 6 episodes and Karai has been in them without it being mentioned. So far it hasn't created a mess, but that's what it's about it.

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I should also like to note before moving on to our favorite mutants, they seem a lot younger in this series. In 2k3 I always felt they started in the 16-17 range, but in this one they definitely can't be older than 13-14.

• Leonardo: One of the major points in this series favor is their characterization of Leo. For the first time Leo has flaws, he's still the leader, still a great ninja, but he is NOT perfect. I can't see 2012's Leo doing the 2k3 Leo's “stamina run/fight”, he just wouldn't last. He's clearly still learning a lot about himself, his fighting style, and his role as leader. And yet he's still the older brother we all know and love. Still the eldest forever fearing losing his brother and failing as a leader. But he's no longer, (to borrow a Blazing Dragons quote)”a namby, pamby choirs boy!” Sorry Leo, can't think of a better way to describe 2k3. He's clearly more the “leader in training” in this universe. I also love that he get's lured in to believing in Karai and even shows off for her at one point. MUCH better character development in Leo this time around.
  

• Raphael: Raph remains Raph, the hot-headed second eldest. He continues to struggle with his temper and has a great episode devoted to his seeking to conquer it. And he still is not great with words when it comes to emotions. Fortunately, my favorite Raph trait, his over-protectiveness towards his younger brothers and especially Mikey, remains intact and even gets a bit more attention. They have managed to strike the right balance between handing out those important fluffy moments while keeping them in character and not too many. Raph is PARTICUALRY protective of Mikey in this series, and even reassures him a couple of times when he's feeling down about himself. Raphael also remains petrified of bugs, though in this one it seems to just be roaches. (*shudders* One hundred percent agreement there!) Raphael also continues to push Leo about his role as leader. In one of my favorite episodes, Leo actually gets fed up and leaves Raph in charge. Does NOT go well and for the first time we truly see why Raphael can't lead. Mikey is badly hurt and poor Raphael literally freezes as he realizes he can't risk his brother's lives. Just can't do it. I think the best thing about this incarnation of Raphael is his lack of head butting with Leo. They certainly still fight, but I see less of the epic proportions of 2k3.
  

• Donatello: Donnie is still brilliant, but you can sense he isn't perfect. Not that he was in 2k3, but I get a stronger sense of the “young” genus here. Especially how his brothers seem to be less confident in his abilities, doubly if his ideas sound crazy to them. There is actually an episode in which Splinter points out that Donnie over-analysis everything which makes him slower in a fight. Also his schoolboy crush on April is actually cannon. I love how he goes about his romance in a totally geek manner. Really, Donnie has changed the least of the four for the most part. A little goofier but still the genius. However, since it took me three seasons of 2k3 to get into Don's head, he might yet branch out. 
  

• Michelangelo: Ahh, Mikey. The prankster, the chief, the baby of the family. Sweet little adorkable bundle of energy that he is, and will always be. The major growth for Mikey is the ability to see more of his out-going personality, especially the fact that they are doomed to a life of near solitude. Mikey actively seeks out friends and this actually can get him in trouble. Also, we see a little more of the overprotective older brothers when it comes to Mikey. Everyone seems to keep an eye on him(especially Raph)and when he's hurt you can feel the morale drop.
  

And finally a few side characters:

• Karai: If there is one thing where this series beats 2k3 at hands down, it's Karai. She is no longer the wishy-washy fence-sitter that drove fans(or me at least) crazy. Neither is she acting the part of the honorable ninja offering a fair deal she first appears as. She is clever, and not afraid of taking what she wants. She seems to have a blatant disregard for the rules. AND she's seductive! She uses her charm to lure Leo and then toys with him. Yet she never hides her manipulation. I love her re-write most of all.
  

• Shredder: Finally, a Shredder that uses emotional manipulation to his advantage! Though he's still hung up on revenge, this Shredder knows how to first break mind and soul before bothering with bodies. He spends most of his time in the shadows in Season 1, as is to be expected, but shows up for the Season finale. Just as skilled and scary as ever, but with a little deeper sense of revenge than 2k3, I think. He started his life as Splinter's rival, and his animosity is very clear in this series. In fact the personal nature of the feud is what makes the tension much higher in this series.
  

• April O'Neil: Ahh, the one who failed. I should explain briefly that I loved the April of the 2k3 series. She was a strong woman who didn't NEED a man but was happy to form a partnership with one on mutual terms. She learned Ninjutsu with Master Splinter because she sees that she's a liability to the team and sets out to fix it. And when she does start training the series never makes her skills so great that she feels Mary Sue.
  
• Annndddd then there was 2012 April. She learns Ninjutsu because she has “special powers”. She serves as Donnie's love interest and almost seems to use him at times without much regard for his feelings. Overall, she feels flat and rather manipulative to me. Maybe more seasons will take this away, but right now all I see is a teenage girl who knows she has the attention of a guy with useful skills and wants to string him along to get what she wants out him without bothering to do much in return. We have enough of this stereotype going around with out encouraging it even more.
  

 

• Music: I've heard three theme songs from the 2k3 series. Four if you want to count the remix of the original theme. The later two I LOATHED and wish to delete from my brain forevermore. The theme song for 2012 is, to me at least, awesome and VERY catchy. It's the first theme song I've watched I literally never want to skip. The rest of the music is pretty straight forward but very nice at always matching the atmosphere.
  

• Story-line: Again, this is very much the turtles at a younger age. Still growing, still maturing, and still working on mastering their fighting skills. I personally liked it coming off of 2k3 because it allows me to see the story from a different angle. There's a lot of room for character development here. Seeing the guys at a younger age also allows for a certain amount of brother fluff you just can't pull of with them as older teenagers.
  
• As such there's room for stories about naivety, and trusting others a bit too much. It allows for some nice conflict in the realms of personal betrayal. As mentioned above, it happens with Mikey seeking friends and being lured into a trap. It happens with Karai charming Leo into believing she's a good person AND attractive. It allows for a fun episode in which Don finds himself teaching a moron a few basics in hopes of keeping the guy alive. It even allows Raph's temper to deal more with personal insults than simple blind rage.
  
• There is also a beautiful use of brotherly fluff and family fluff going on as the turtles are still young. They are still young enough to have bad dreams and screw around. They watch old cartoons quite a bit(which act as parodies of old shows that are extremely entertaining!) and play random games together. And then there's hundreds of little things I can't list here, but here are some examples: Raph covers for Leo even though he distrusts Karai, when Donnie is beat up by a mutant monkey his brothers first ensure his health and then proceed to tease him mercilessly, and Raph reassures Mikey after the latter's self-esteem takes knock. All this just makes the show awesome.
  

 

Should I watch it?: Do you have younger kids attached to you somehow(your children, nephews, nieces, cousins, friends, etc, etc)and want to watch TMNT with them? Absolutely watch this as there is something for both age groups here. Do you love the family elements of 2k3 and TMNT in general? There's plenty of great little fluffy bits scattered generously throughout the series without ever getting corny. Do you just love TMNT and will watch almost anything containing it? Definitely a worthwhile addition to give a go.

Overall I recommend the series based on Season 1. It has a nice take on the characters for the most part and the younger age group actually works to the the shows advantage. I say, give it ago, at least for the first season. You might find you really like it!

EDIT-Yes, I misspelled particularly, the journal is being difficult about correcting it so...bah.

I want to change a few things in my DA account.  I have no idea if anyone even WATCHES me anymore, but on the off chance that someone gives this page two glances, here is a bit of an announcement.

I have decided to try to be a bit more serious about a very important part of my soul.  I am, have always been, and will always be, a storyteller.  However, I have rarely or even NEVER sat down to turn that aspect of myself into a writer.  I want to now do so.  This means forcing my muse to obey(HA.) or at least forcing it to try to stay on target and not skip all over the freaking place when coming up with a story.  This means caring about characterization and the cliche/corny/over-dramatic crap that I am prone to.  This will be hard.  But I want to do it.  So I am going to toss my old art into a folder and start a gallery of random writing bits.  

Currently on my plate:

*Finish an essay I started on the problem of Romantic Fluff vs. Friendship Fluff and why one overwhelms the other, which I prefer and why I think Friendship fluff is better.
*Write an exercise in tragedy that sprung from my muse thanks to TMNT2003.  I never touch tragedy, not TRUE tragedy, so I would like to give it a whirl.
*Finish a prolouge-that-can-stand-as-a-one-shot that is also TMNT2003 that is sitting in my docs file right now.
        -Sub-point to this is hammer out the first few chapters of a longer story that this piece is a part of.  It's teasing me, I swear.


I will also maybe post occasional journals that will be reviews of things.  I know I want to do one on TMNT2012 after I finish the first season. I may do more if the other seasons warrant it.

That's all for now.  Don't know if anyone will see this but that is my new direction.

Rules:

1. - You must posts these rules.
2.- Each person has to share 10 things about them
3.- Answer the 10 questions asked to you and invent 10 questions the people you tag will have to answer 
4.- Choose 10 people and put their icons on your journal
5.- Go to their page to inform them they are tagged (we have mentions now, using that)
6.- Not something like " you are tagged if you read that"
7.- You have to legitimately tag 10 people
8.- No tag-backs
9.- You can't say that you don't do tags. 
10.-You MUST MAKE A JOURNAL ENTRY 

1: I have blue eyes.  My father's entire side is blue and grey, so I must possess only recessive eye color genes.