[purp1earm0rxx]

I wanna address something that is passed around in the bayverse tmnt fandom

So, most tmnt fans argue about how the bayverse ninja turtles don't look like teenagers in the movies, right?

First off, when you say they don't look like teenagers, who are you comparing them to? Are you comparing them to human teens, or maybe other versions of them? With human teens, yeah, of course they're not gonna look like them, they are two separate species. As for why they don't look similar in design to other versions of them, I don't really know what to say to that one. For me, I think the live action bayverse ninja turtles being huge in size makes more sense. Unlike humans, with turtles some types of turtles don't stop growing in size.

So, with the turtles being, well, turtles, with a splash of mutation, I think the middle ground of both was having them be at least six feet.

"Well, they don't look 15."

Taking what I already said, I wanna add to it that, they are still turtles, so they are gonna have qualities of turtles. And one thing about turtles is that like most animals, they reach full maturity earlier than humans do. For humans, they don't reach full development physically until like between 16 to 20, and their frontal lobe doesn't finish development until about like 25. Animals will reach full maturity in about a year or so, apparently with red-eared sliders (which is the type of turtle they are), they reach full development between 5 and 10 years. Them being turtles, the addition of the mutation probably pushed it to a few years or so farther then regular turtles, but still earlier than humans. So, for the ninja turtles, chances are they reach full development physically at like 15 years of age, but as for their frontal lobe, it's probably close, if not the same as humans bc of the ooze.

Mind you also, the ooze is alien shit from outer space, I think it makes sense that when you inject it into somebody, it's gonna make them look almost crazy in appearance. I mean, it literally came from the Kaang, what it was it that Leonardo called him?... Bubblicious?

Considering how Kaang looked, I would count myself lucky that the bayverse ninja turtles turned out looking the way they did and not anything like the Kaang. Wouldn't you agree?

[purp1earm0rxx]

I noticed something in the 2014 TMNT movie

In the 2014 live action tmnt movie, there's a scene where April is trying to get Vern to drive to Eric Sack's estate, and Raphael bursts into the front, yelling "Drive!" During that moment, for like two seconds, maybe three, his pupils, iris, and sclera turn blue. It could have been a CGI mistake, it could have been reflection of the lighting, but with it fading out back to (yellow I think?), that doesn't seem like an accident. Maybe a side effect of the ooze, where when they get a rush of adrenaline, it turns their eyes blue. But I have only seen it with Raphael, so I don't know. What do you think?

Update: here’s what I meant:

[purp1earm0rxx]

I've been seeing a lot of hate of bayverse Leonardo so here's my controversial opinion of him

Bayverse Leonardo is not a walking red flag. Mind you, in the 2016 live action TMNT movie, he is 17 years old. He's a kid. A kid tasked with the responsibility to lead his brothers and protect his family. That's a lot on a 17-year old's shoulders.

And yet, we have people who hate the character. Why? Their usual reasoning is for the fact that during the 2016 movie, there was a part where Donnie told him how the ooze could make them human, and in response to learning said information, he told Donnie to keep it a secret from the others. The others being Raph and Mikey. But, unknowingly to them, Mikey had heard/seen the whole thing. Mikey ends up confiding in Raph about it, and Raph is upset on finding out that Leo kept such a thing from them to the point that he confronts Leo about it.

This ends up in them arguing and then, Leo says the line, "there's only one vote that counts in this family, mine."

So, a lot of fans hate Leonardo based off that. But here's the thing. First off, eventually Leonardo realizes that it was wrong of him to have done that without talking with his brothers first, and lets them decide what they want to do with the ooze later on. That was him learning to balance being a leader and being a brother. He had put the decision in their hands and told them that whatever they decide that he would stick by it. That was him owning up to his mistake taking that choice away from them in the first place. But secondly? He didn't make the decision with malicious intent, you can watch the scene where Donnie is telling him, showing him how the ooze can change them, and you can see the fear in his eyes. He was scared. HIs brothers weren't totally happy with being mutant turtles, and seeing as there's a chance they could be human?

He knew that if they found out about it, they probably would jump at the chance to join the surface world. And he was afraid of that, he was afraid of losing his brothers. Not to mention, earlier in the movie, there's a scene where he's talking with Splinter, about losing Shedder, and Splinter says, "Remember, as long as you keep the team unified, you shall always succeed." And in Leonardo's head, the ooze might mean the team falling apart. That's not me excusing his actions, but it explains his reasons behind it.

But it feels like the fans that are hating on Leonardo just brushed past the scene of him letting his brothers decide what to do with the ooze, or just completely forget it altogether. It literally is such an important scene, bc it shows that he can, and does, learn from his mistakes. It shows growth in him as a leader and a brother. Yes, that doesn't change the fact that it happened in the first place, but it shows that he will own up to his own faults. When you are a leader, it's never bc you are that perfect of a person, no one is perfect, to be a true leader is to be able to see your own faults and to be able to own up to them and change.

There's a reason Splinter made him leader.

He's not a walking red flag, he's not an asshole, and he's not a horrible person or brother. He's flawed. He made a mistake, and he made right by it. That's what should matter.

I think people are too hard on him, and I just wish they would ease up on the hate. I hate to see my fandom so filled with hate and dislike towards a character that I believe doesn't deserve it. And I say this as someone who grew up with three brothers, I have an older brother who Leonardo kind of is similar to, and our relationship is very alike to Leo and Raph's relationship. Siblings fight, and siblings forgive.