#weapon philosophy

[secretsocietyxmen]

To me, swapping Raph’s sai for tonfa not only makes sense from a logical perspective (tonfa are the better weapon), but a characterization one as well.

Sai are typically used as a specific counter to longer weapons, like blades or staffs. Outside of that, they don’t get as much use. It’s fits fairly well in a series that has a lot of conflict between Raph and Leo (and Donnie, sometimes), as he has a weapon designed to fight them. He can literally catch and counter their weapons, and take advantage of them.

Tonfa, on the other hand, are of a more general defensive weapon. You’d usually use them to block incoming attacks, then swing them around for a strike. They work for both an aggressive character (as they can do a lot of damage if you know what you’re doing), and for a protective one. Remember, a shield is just as powerful a weapon as a sword, you just use them in different ways.

So, if you’re like me and want a less confrontational Raphael, then tonfa are the better choice. Plus, they’re cooler weapons.

[secretsocietyxmen]

A pet peeve of mine is seeing people mishandling the importance of weapons when making headcanons/AUs. Especially when people change a character’s weapon into something that doesn’t quite fit.

A character’s weapon matters so much to what kind of person they are, and recklessly changing it could make them feel... off. When a person picks up a weapon, they have to train for a long while to master it, and so parts of that training can influence their personality, or vice versa.

That doesn’t mean that you can’t change their weapon ever, but it requires a lot of thought and effort in order to work, in my opinion. A weapon is connected to one’s very soul, and messing with that never feels right.