MandyKat

27 | She/Her | Biromantic-ace Good Omens | Star Wars | TMNT https://linktr.ee/MandyKat

[imagionationstation]

For your post about the comic: they would get so protective on behalf of their sensei. They call him that and master as a sign of respect and love and no one shits on the man that did everything he could to protect them and keep them safe as a traumatized single parent.

I know I've said this a million times so I'll put it in meme form for you guys. Let us shake things up a bit. Make it more interesting

Okay I'll stop before someone gets mad at me byeee

[mandykat53]

Mikey after five seasons

[toy-powerhouse]

I'm finding it funny that people are for real comparing 2012 Splinter and Rise Splinter, and think that the latter is a better father than the former just cause his own kids get to call him 'dad'.

Hate to break it to those bootlickers, but 2012 Splinter didn't neglect his own kids like Rise Splinter, is he strict? Yes. Is his expectations for them high? Yes. But did he neglect them? No.

Ah, I see, you're referencing this 2012 TMNT vs. RotTMNT crossover comic here. Before I address your comments about it, I first gotta call out the elephant in the room with this: the creator of the comic has admitted to never having watched the 2012 TMNT cartoon. It's fair to say that whatever opinions they have about TMNT 2012, they are going to be uninformed opinions born of ignorance. They’re also a big RotTMNT fan who apart from that has only watched TMNT: Mutant Mayhem (2023) and read some issues of the Jennika comic. So, their understanding of TMNT is both very limited and very biased in favor of RotTMNT. With that in mind, the criticism the comic levies against the 2012 cartoon rings very hollow.

Circling back to address your comments here, the comic's attempt to cast doubt on the strength of familial bonds of the 2012 Hamato family shows a fundamental misunderstanding of what their dynamic is in that particular iteration. Firstly, the turtles do verbally acknowledge Splinter as their father. While usually the 2012 TMNT turtles refer to their Splinter as "master," "sensei," or just "Splinter," at times, particularly in moments of great stress, they do call him "father." Secondly, most older iterations of TMNT depict Splinter and the turtles with a mostly or completely mentor-pupil dynamic as opposed to a parent-child relationship. More recent adaptations have increasingly leaned into the parent-child model, with the 2012 cartoon finding itself at a bit of a crossroads where the tension between these differing relations is often played for dramatic effect. Dismissing this nuance and pushing the notion that if the 2012 turtles don't call their Splinter "dad," then their relationship with him is faulty is shortsighted. Whether or not the ninja turtles call Splinter "dad," “master,” "papa," "teacher," or whatever is irrelevant to what constitutes as a close, genuine attachment they have with Splinter. Moreover, neither the mentor-pupil nor parent-child models are inherently better or worse; both relationship types are valid, have their merits, and are worth representing in TMNT adaptations.

There's also the out-of-character, rather fanon behavior of the characters in the comic. This is especially evident in how 2012 Splinter is presented as a loud-mouthed, judgmental prick, very unlike the often calm, reserved, and dignified character from the cartoon (again, the creator of the comic has never seen the 2012 TMNT cartoon, so this quite OOC behavior checks out). The comic is another instance of RotTMNT fans trying to argue that RotTMNT outclasses another TMNT iteration, in this case, the 2012 cartoon. While the comic seems at first to be privy to the flaws of both versions of Splinter, it ultimately presents 2012 Splinter in a much harsher, negative light and attempts to portray RotTMNT Splinter as the better father of the two. The comic has mean ol' 2012 Splinter berate the poor, sad RotTNNT Hamato fam and ends with RotTMNT Splinter standing up for himself and his sons by asserting that his boys call him "dad" which suggests that he's a better father unlike his counterpart. It's overly critical, curmudgeonly, and dysfunctional family (2012 TMNT) vs. the spunky, lovable underdog happy family (RotTMNT). Even though, as I've discussed plenty of times on this blog, the RotTMNT Hamato fam is also very dysfunctional and unloving in its own special way (i.e., Splinter's negligence towards his sons, Raph's parentification, Draxum being shoehorned into the family, etc.).

Really, neither version of Splinter is necessarily better nor worse than the other. Tbh I think both 2012 Splinter and RotTMNT Splinter are equally guilty of very poor parenting that fans often try to excuse or defend. Although, in the case of 2012 Splinter, I do need to rewatch and finish the series before I come down on him too hard.

I'll end this by saying it's always in fans’ best interests to be properly informed about whatever they choose to discuss or portray by engaging in the source material as directly as possible. Sometimes a bit of fandom gatekeeping can go a long way in keeping people honest and showing respect to the media they claim to love. You always do a disservice to yourself as a fan when you present to the world takes about media that you've never engaged with or consumed.

Wait, one more thing, "bootlickers," is waaay too unfitting a term to be used in this context. RotTMNT Splints ain't real; stans can't be a fictional character's sycophant or toady.

[lizzie-wendigo]

How badly do you think the other Splinters would roast/judge Rise Splinter then?

This meme xD

For those who don't know, at this point I don't care if you like this Splinter or not, for me he'll always be the worst version (at least until something worse comes along).

[imchangingmynameoutofspite]

I think the main reason mischaracterisation in the 2012 tmnt fandom annoys me so much is the way it removes basically all nuance from their relationships.

Splinter is no longer a flawed father beset by sudden fatherhood and loss of his identity but is now a benevolent cartoon-like villain. (No seriously I read a fic where he killed Ice-cream Kitty). In most fanfiction I've read, he's severely misguided at best and has no love for his sons at all at worst. Also where is this narrative that he's extremely physically abusive to them??? Outside of training, he never physically hurts them as far as I remember? He's not the most perfect father but he's also not the devil from the bible.

When it comes to the brothers themselves, they're often portrayed as particularly abusive caricatures of their canon selves. When their somewhat thoughtless actions ,usually towards Mikey, are portrayed as entirely malicious, it takes away the emotional depth from the entire interaction. It's also just straight up not correct. In the episode "New Friend, Old Enemy" Raphael, realising his previous comments about Mikey's trust in Bradford have hurt Mikey, apologies and reassures Mikey that he is an awesome person:

Is Raphael rough and hot tempered at times? Yes, but he knows when he's crossed the line and can apologise in his own way accordingly. With this in mind I just can't imagine him hurting/abusing Mikey as blatantly and intentionally as some fan media seems to imply. Mikey's brothers unknowingly hurting him is a much more intriguing and canonical narrative than them straight up abusing him intentionally.

Anyways point is mischaracterisation is less interesting than more canonical characterisation imo.

Gonna be real no clue why I wrote this entire thing just had to put my thoughts somewhere.

(also this is in no way me dunking on fanfiction or people who choose to characterise them this way, it just baffles me why it tends to be the norm)

[roguedeer]

Being asexual and racist is embarassing as fuck. Being racist at all is obviously embarassing as fuck but the amount of racism and especially antiblackness i have been seeing from asexuals recently is obscene.

One of the only asexual activists is Yasmin Benoit, a Black woman. She has raised so much awareness for the community. She was the first asexual person to lead Pride in London, she started the #thisiswhatasexuallookslike movement and is THE leading voice for the community.

And you all will celebrate international asexuality day on April 6th but we wouldn't even have that if she hadn't cofounded it.

Edit: why are you all too scared to repost this. Cmon. Be vocal about being against racism

[thebluewhalejester]

NO AND BECAUSE SHES LITERALLY SO COOL WHY DOES NO ONE TALK ABOUT HER (rhetorical question, we all know why)

LOOK AT THIS!! THIS IS SO COOL!!! THIS IS WHAT ASEXUAL LOOKS LIKE!!!!

[vivi-theakuneko]

Finale Haters are NOT Acephobics for Wanting a Kiss

(Edited this post because the original rant was a reply to someone's post due to a misunderstanding.)

I have seen "Finale Haters are acephobic because they want AziCrow to kiss/have sex in the Finale". So I'm going to rant about it once and for all (hopefully).

Lumping Finale haters with acephobics because they want a kiss (and joke about AziCrow having sex) is dismissing every single ace person who wanted AziCrow to experience that in a happy ending.

If you hated the Finale for the lack of kissing, remember that you are valid because the damn thing is terrible when you look at it as a romance. Nothing was resolved in their relationship. The established F15 kiss was a setup with no paid off. They never talked properly about their feelings. Azi tried to, but all Crowley did was blame him for everything he didn't do. The list goes on.

I never expected a kiss after S1. I even said to discord friends that if they kiss I'm going to be so annoyed by it because it would cause arguments between people who saw them as non romantic (as just friends) and people who like them as lovers. But Season 2 set that up.

If they didn't want them to kiss in Go3 maybe they shouldn't have given them a break-up kiss at the end of S2. Because that's a promise to the audience that they would have a better kiss later after reconciliation.

And don't recite those people's interview about the kiss to me. I have read those, and I thought it was stupid. If there was a story that needed a kiss the most, it's Good Omens's Finale. AziCrow didn't go through 6000 years trauma to end up with this.

The straight couple got a sex scene in Season 1, but a second kiss for AziCrow would be too much. Please. 🙄

If you are ace and hate the Finale, you are also valid because ace people can and are allowed to enjoy seeing kisses. Kissing is often tied to sex, but it doesn't have to be. People kiss all the time without it leading to sex. And there are ace people who aren't grossed out by kisses and sex in the fandom.

Most Book Omens art I have drawn, even the ones that depict them doing sexual activities, should have been tagged as ace AziCrow, but I don't want sex repulses people to come across them by accident. (Note: Not talking about zine art or collab work because I adjusted them based on the context of the project)

My headcanon for their relationship is that they are an asexual married couple. They are not repulsed by sex. In fact, they like doing it sometimes when the mood is right or when they have an idea they want to try. What makes them ace is that sex to them is just one of those "fun" activities. To them, it is on the same level as watching a movie together or playing a game together of importance. They can live together forever without ever needing or thinking of having sex if they want to. They like the physical pleasure aspect of sex, just like how they like the pleasure of eating or drinking but there is no "wow that guy/girl is so hot I wanna fuck them" thoughts going on in those mind unless it is about each other.

Demisexual is the closest human label that can be applied to these two. But even so, they aren't humans, and their way of thinking is vastly different from us. I don't really like labeling them tbh. They just do what they wanna do and don't care how humans see their relationship or orientation.

There might be more to add, but I don't have more right now. Just woke up and saw a take that made me want to say sth.

As usual, if you disagree, it's best to block me cause I'm too lazy to debate with people, honestly. I'd rather spend my time drawing my blorbos. This post is to declare my stand on fandom discourse so people know I am problematic. 👍

Thanks for reading if you made it this far.

[k57mlem]

[mandykat53]

Disappointed Karai didn’t have a relationship with any of the other turtles besides Leo. I think her relationship with Mikey would have been entertaining to watch.

[mandykat53]

Seeing this post get attention recently makes me want to make a fanfic of these two now, because there dynamic is so interesting to me.

I think Karai would be a bit annoyed at him for constantly calling her his sister at first, but then warm but to him pretty quickly. She already finds him funny so that wont be hard. She would also be the worst influence on him.

[mandykat53]

Happy Pride, from these two. 🌈

[plague-and-creatures]

I've been seeing the new flag around and I wanted to give my own thoughts because while it has grown on me, I still kinda prefer the old flag

It's mainly for these reasons

1) I find the sudden shift from the dark palette to one with yellow and pink jarring. The old palette is more easily recognizable, and I think the fact that the purple wasn't kept at the very least is a bit of an odd choice

2) The new one doesn't mirror the aro flag the way the old one does. Both communities have a lot of overlap and mutual understanding with one another and are very intertwined. This is the main reason why I find the new color palette less appealing, it feels disconnected from our sister community

3) The new flag includes a pink stripe to represent other forms of love (platonic, familial, queerplatonic, etc). Paired with the fact that the meaning of the gray stripe for identities across the spectrum was kept and the white stripe was changed to represent intimacy, I completely understand why loveless and bold stripe ace people feel left out due to the black stripe's meaning being changed for the new flag.

I feel like the meaning of the black stripe in the new flag could've been included in the meaning of the purple/fuchsia stripe instead, allowing the black stripe to still represent asexuality and lack of attraction like it did in the original without taking away from the messages/meanings the creator wanted to include

4) Some acespec identity flags like gray, demi, and aego are derivative of the old ace flag, so similar to the disconnect from the aro flag there's a disconnect between them and the new design that feels off

Again, the new design has grown on me and I don't dislike it, I just won't be giving up the old flag any time soon. If anything, if I ever make my own pride stuff I'd probably just offer both variations as options

I will say one idea I liked was viewing the new flag as an umbrella or community flag and the old one like an identity specific one (like how the rainbow flag represents the broader queer community and the toothpaste flag represents gay men specifically), but in the end it's up to individuals how they want to see it

It's not a bad thing to prefer one over the other, however the amount of racist backlash and false narratives being spun by people over this is absolutely disgusting.

You do not need to spread rumors and lies about someone to justify not liking a flag. Be mature and be up front about what you don't like instead of trying to moralize every opinion

If you just don't like change, that's fine

If you don't like the colors, also fine

If you have fair criticisms, that's fine and you can have those discussions without being a racist piece of shit

[mattpresents]

How do you know you're not Asexual? Maybe you just haven't met the right nobody.

[damnfandomproblems]

Fandom Problem #14,940:

I hate it when you headcanon a character with an unconfirmed sexuality aroace and people be whining and accuse you of headcanoning them as aroace to not ship whatever ship they’re on. and they’ll accuse you of queer erasure as well when again that characters sexuality isn’t confirmed. I headcanon Clover from RWBY as aroace and I dealt with anons who don’t like my headcanon of him I don’t like it.

[mandykat53]

I made my version of Angel for TMNT 2012 in Tomodachi life and she is now crushing on Eden, my child OC for the ineffable husbands. They look so much like Wenclair I had to share.

[mandykat53]

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

Chapter 7 is out now!

[theelastword]

I’m honestly really bothered by the way that Aziraphale was treated by the writers and, notably, by CROWLEY, throughout the finale. why on EARTH did every single interaction between crowley and aziraphale regarding s2 Final Fifteen consist of crowley accusing aziraphale of abandoning him, aziraphale explaining that he had to try to do the right thing / they couldn’t have been happy if they left all of earth’s inhabitants to suffer, and then crowley just making faces at him and never ONCE responding to those valid claims??? i kept expecting crowley to eventually arrive at the conclusion that yes, aziraphale’s motivations WERE noble, and clearly his attempts to do good actually WERE on track to achieving something (ie the Second Coming wasn’t going to be a war at all before michael ruined everything). but crowley never breached that topic.

it was all about crowley’s forgiveness of aziraphale, but never crowley’s admission that aziraphale made valid choices, too. throughout the show, aziraphale may have been flawed for acting like angels were superior to demons in efforts to keep him and crowley safe, but crowley is also flawed for always belittling aziraphale and calling him stupid/idiotic/etc any time he made a choice independent of their relationship out of some kind of protective instinct. i’m just so tired of the narrative that aziraphale’s flaws are flaws, and crowley’s flaws are quirks.

like what do you mean aziraphale is a “taker”????? he went back to Heaven to save all of humanity, yet he was characterized as selfish for it and no one ever stood up for him or acknowledged his attempts to stand up for himself. and in the end it was crowley who god gave the choice of what to do about the universe to, and whose idea it was to start a new universe for the sake of humans’ freedom. aziraphale sacrificed himself and his happiness FIRST with the s2 finale, but that choice was dubbed selfish whereas crowley was given the big moment to be self-sacrificing in s3 yet his choice is heroic. never mind the fact that aziraphale fought for the humans even harder than crowley did when he refused to run away in both seasons 1 and 2. no no no— aziraphale is lazy. crowley is a hero.

besides, to imply that aziraphale only “took” and demanded things from crowley is to entirely misunderstand their dynamic. crowley takes on a doting role in that relationship because he has been told that he has to be the symbol of evil— not even just a demon, but THE snake itself— and as much as he tried to convince himself otherwise throughout history, that’s NOT who he really is. caring for aziraphale gave him the chance to be vulnerable and loving; aziraphale loved him BECAUSE he was different from other demons, not in spite of it. we’re expected to believe that while crowley is a good person BECAUSE he’s not like other demons, aziraphale is a good person DEPSITE the fact that he enjoys food and is “lazy” or “prideful” or “gluttonous.”

furthermore, while i understand that throughout history aziraphale could have reciprocated crowley’s care more openly, let’s not forget that over and over again, crowley implies things like “they never check up” and “they love me down there.” while the risk of punishment and death is equally huge for both of them, the risk was always more likely to be a problem for aziraphale, who had heaven breathing down his neck 24/7 if he so much as used one frivolous miracle to save his own life. aziraphale kept them both alive for 6000 years by keeping crowley at a distance, yet he STILL showed up and gave him holy water— something that easily could have gotten him killed— and showed up for crowley however he could. their situations were different, and in season 1, crowley understood that difference. they had to go at aziraphale’s pace. but all of that went out the window when aziraphale was characterized as a selfish “taker” who abandoned his city and his soulmate rather than someone who tried to fucking save them.

don’t even get me STARTED on the scene between the two of them and God; the entire show has clearly indicated that, in different ways, aziraphale and crowley each have equal degrees of trauma surrounding God and her lack of communication with them. that’s what made their moments throughout the Job minisode so moving— they understood what the other was going through because they were experiencing the same thing. so why on Earth was the moment of God’s arrival given to Crowley and crowley alone?? aziraphale literally stepped aside to encourage crowley to ask his brilliant question, yet crowley didn’t offer aziraphale the same stage, and when god took it upon herself to address aziraphale, his question was exclusively romantic and had nothing to do with his own trauma surrounding heaven and humanity. aziraphale was reduced to crowley’s love interest, from the interaction with god to the fact that (nearly) every step along the way, it was crowley who figured out the next phase of the mystery first.

aziraphale has ALWAYS had ambitions outside of crowley— they both adore humanity, but it was crowley who always suggested that they say fuck it and run away whereas aziraphale stood by earth time and time again. so it makes NO sense that aziraphale wouldn’t ask god a question about anything besides his love story. that’s never been who he is. his love for crowley is an important part of his identity, but it’s not the only part. you wouldn’t get that if you watched that scene out of context.

and unlike the crowley we know and love from seasons 1 and 2, finale-crowley NEVER intervened to say something like, “no, angel. you are not good DESPITE the fact that you eat and dance and act hedonistically. you are good BECAUSE of those things.” aziraphale’s goodwill has always rippled out of small kindnesses— he stops crowley from abandoning a stranger in the street whom he just ran over with a car. his love of music caused him to forgive a tenant’s rent for free. his love of food gave him a connection with the owner of a local coffee shop and sushi restaurant. fucking BULLSHIT that he’s lazy or hedonistic “but” still a good angel. he’s a good angel BECAUSE of the things God criticized him for, not in spite of them. and even if she said those things with respect /teasingness, Mr. “I did not care for it” was SILENT during all the moments that implied that aziraphale’s interests and joys were flaws.

aziraphale is selfish for loving food and comfort, but crowley’s obsession with his car or plants just makes him funny and iconic. i kept waiting for crowley to intervene and say something beautiful about aziraphale the way that azi did for him in that scene, but nope.

and while i understand the argument i’ve seen some fans make that it’s religiously liberating for aziraphale to acknowledge that he is technically a sinner by biblical standards but is still good, my issue stems from the word “still.” he argued to god that she was right about him “BUT” he still always tried to do good. no one— not aziraphale OR crowley— pointed out that those things aren’t sins in the first place— they make him who he is. crowley is redeemed, in god’s eyes, for his creativity and curiosity, but his temper/selfishness was never addressed. alternatively, aziraphale’s so-deemed “flaws” were criticized, but his love for crowley is what made god appreciate him. and as sweet as that idea is, it’s also a version of synecdoche; it reduces aziraphale to his love story and nothing else.

and SPEAKING of aziraphale’s speech to crowley, while it WAS so sweet, i call bullshit on the idea that crowley was the “only” one willing to question, or that he “taught” aziraphale bravery. aziraphale has been THE bravest character on that show since Day One; the very first thing we learned about him was that he gave away his god-given sword because adam and eve were alone and scared, and aziraphale made that choice entirely without crowley’s influence. we also watched him look out for his fellow angel and warn him not to get into trouble BEFORE the Fall even happened— proving that deep down, aziraphale suspected heaven for what it really was before crowley even did. and then in the finale, we watched an angel who JUST saw what happens to deserters take off his own wrappings to help an injured demon who’d threatened him with his own blade.

aziraphale has NEVER needed crowley to teach him bravery; crowley taught him that the bravery he already possessed was nothing to be ashamed of. but to rob aziraphale of the same qualities that crowley possesses, to give him no ambitions outside of romance (ie “i only want one thing”), is to demote his character to crowley’s love interest, and not once in this finale did crowley speak up about it.

i think a lot of times when we have a queer relationship— even one like this in which neither being is gendered— fans subconsciously try to find a Man and Woman in the dynamic based on systemic heteronormativity and misogyny. so when we condemn aziraphale for his flaws but treat crowley’s as silly aspects of his personality, when we refuse to acknowledge that aziraphale might have ambitions outside of his love story (ie the Nate and Andy From Devil Wears Prada Effect), or when we claim that wanting SOME creature comforts for himself makes him lazy and prideful, we end up treating aziraphale exactly the way that female love interests are treated. and while i personally think that’s been a huge issue in the fanbase for years, this finale is the first time in which crowley acted that way, too. crowley actively mistreated aziraphale throughout this entire finale.

even down to the human versions of themselves: anthony is a published author, a teller of his own story (albeit not a particularly successful one), whereas that scene implied that asa didn’t even own that bookshop, he was a subordinate employee in it, connoting an inherent difference in power. and while i understand that “crowley” might be an easier name to adapt than “aziraphale,” something in me twinges sadly at the fact that he doesn’t even keep his own name in their supposed, reincarnated happy ending. and our very last scene of them involved crowley looking at the stars-aka HIS passion— and aziraphale bringing him a drink like some kind of housewife. whatever happened to all the fanon representations of the south downs cottage that was overrun with plants AND books? aziraphale’s personality was bled from his happy ending, and only crowley’s remained.

i’ll always be sorry for that clever, kind, compassionate angel who forgives all at the expense of himself, who willingly sacrificed his own happiness after fighting for it for 6,000 years so he could undo the system of abuse that HE was a victim of only to be obliviated out of existence before he got the chance to have that happiness back. he was never acknowledged as the protagonist, the frodo baggins, the hero of this story. and he fucking deserved better.

[yetrop]

Good omens fic writers/fanartists after GO3: