Lilith ran away from home shortly after becoming a werewolf and, after many years of living in fear, finally started living her dream of making music. She’s the lead singer and main guitarist for her band, Aconitum.
back at it again at krispy kreme!! do your oc(s) usually carry a bag? this could be anything from a purse, a backpack, a briefcase, a belt with a ton of pouches, etc. if they do, what items will always be in it? do they have anything they can’t leave their living space without? and, perhaps most importantly: if someone asked to borrow their favorite writing utensil, would they share it?
this is such a good question omg
tommy:
he actually doesn’t carry around much because brooke is always carrying his stuff. of course, after she’s whisked to the future, he starts carrying around all her stuff.
if someone asked to borrow anything, it depends. if it was always his, or if it’s before the others get whisked to the future, “yeah! no biggie :]” while they’re all missing?? absolutely not. don’t even look at brooke’s old stuff. and god forbid you ask for it. he’ll use her stuff (like the first aid kit), but nobody else can touch it. after they get back, he’s still a little cagey as the habit settled in deep.
brooklyn:
it would be easier to just show you lol she carries around everything. “just in case.” (note: not listed on this ref is the fact she used to carry around colloidal silver supplements to suppress her lycanthropy, but it was making her incredibly sick.) she hates going anywhere without her entire satchel, but sometimes uses a smaller purse with just water, snacks, a first aid kit, phone, and multitool.
most of her things, she’ll freely hand over if you ask to borrow them. with her notebook, she’s hesitant and might flip it to the back so the likelihood of people seeing her notes is lower. she tends to not get attached to pens/writing utensils and carries extras whenever possible.
t’ytian:
he has some small pouches attached to his belt and usually carries around water, snacks, and whittling tools. he never goes anywhere without his whittling tools, and only the most trustworthy people can use them as they were a gift from his late father. borrowing anything else, he’ll happily hand over and won’t even get upset if he doesn’t get it back.
finn:
her briefcase might look fancy and professional, but it’s full of de-stressing tools like coloring books and markers, fidget toys and stress balls, candy, and supplements. she has many high quality pens and frequently gets more so she’s open to letting people borrow/take one if they’d like.
lilith:
on stage: basically only carries what she can fit in her pockets, sometimes doesn’t grab anything. maybe a pen for autographs.
elsewhere: maybe a sketchbook to sketch out plants. doesn’t need snacks (people are everywhere). doesn’t really carry anything else and relies on her lycanthropy to “take care of her needs as they come”
i am thinking about how when the turtles first bring brooke to the lair and after she transforms back into a human, splinter suggests she learn to meditate since it could help her with her big emotions (and therefore prevent or minimize further transformations)
but brooke’s so stuck in “logic” and first has to conduct essentially an interview of “how does meditation work? what about it makes you think it will help? is it simply the placebo effect or is this backed by science?”
thankfully splinter is 1) very very patient, and 2) has a bit of experience dealing with lots and lots of questions stemming from a logical pov (donnie, ofc). he can tell she’s just curious and probably wants to find the fastest most effective thing first before trying anything.
so she starts coming over to do meditation practice with splinter, mainly. sometimes she’ll bring her homework and do it in the lair because being alone at home isn’t helping.
and then ofc the mere act of being in community instead of isolation is helping her.
why the OC was created vs if they fulfilled that purpose or went off the rails:
Brooke: made to be the chemistry expert because it bothered me that Donnie had to do everything. fulfilled, but got sidetracked along the way and went through a VERY big developmental arc. chemistry isn’t even the first thing i think of for her anymore.
Tommy: made to be a silly guy to inject my anxiety into. fulfilled. i also didn’t realize he’s my main “put him in a situation/through the horrors” guy
Finn: made to give the turtles therapy. fulfilled.
T’Ytian: made to be a one-off brief love interest for Brooke in an extremely silly role play my sister and i have reached over 50k words for. fulfilled but we got derailed BIG TIME and now are designing the entire salamandrian flora, fauna, society, and government system.
Cam: made to be a silly self insert to ship with bumblebee. failed(?) since she’s now aroace (but fulfilled ¿ because qpr????). also sidetracked and injected my own life circumstances cranked up to an 11 into her. and because her lore is now Insane™
60 questions that can be made into an OC ask game, or you can just fill everything out yourself to get to know your character a little better :)
___
[1] What first impression do they typically make? Are they likeable from the get go, or take time to grow on people?
[2] How does their social personality differ from how they act when they’re alone?
[3] What emotion is the hardest for them to deal with?
[4] How physically and emotionally affectionate they are?
[5] Are they good at keeping secrets?
[6] How direct are they in conversations, do they speak in hints and riddles or bluntly say what they think?
[7] Are they a good liar, and what would they probably lie about?
[8] How open they are about their true feelings, both positive and negative?
[9] What is their love language?
[10] How quickly do they fall for someone?
[11] What are small things that make them happy?
[12] How high is their self-esteem?
[13] What kind of sense of humor do they have, if any?
[14] What does it take to make them laugh, and what does their laugh sound like?
[15] How do they act around people they don't like?
[16] Do they easily rely on others to help them out, or prefer doing everything themselves?
___
[17] What is their biggest struggle that no one around them is able to understand or believe?
[18] Do they ever have to hide their identity and for what reason?
[19] If they could change one thing about their past, what would they change?
[20] When they’re sad or upset, do they need company or some time alone?
[21] When they’re sick, would they want others to visit and take care of them, or they would rather prefer not to be seen at not their best?
[22] Do they have nightmares, and if yes, when did they start and what are they usually about?
[23] What was the worst, the darkest period of their life that they have been through?
[24] How hard it is for them to not allow their emotions to cloud their judgement?
[25] Do they have fears and phobias, and if they do, do they usually keep it to themselves or talk about it openly?
[26] Do they have any physical or mental ilness, how do they handle it and how open they are about it?
[27] Do they have any scars, how did they get them and how do they feel about them?
[28] What is something that they will never be able to forgive?
[29] How do they deal with loss, stress and anger?
[30] What are their most healthy and most unhealthy coping mechanisms?
[31] How hard it is for them to own up to their mistakes and wrongdoings?
[32] Is there something they've done in the past that they deeply regret till this day?
[33] What are one of their fondest and most treasured memories?
___
[34] Do they have vices they don't want others to know about?
[35] Do they like their own appearance, and what do they do, if anything, to alter it in any way?
[36] Do they own items that have sentimental value?
[37] How would they spend a lazy day when they have nothing specific to do?
[38] What do they usually do or where do they go when they need to feel comfortable and safe?
[39] What are their sleeping habits and favorite sleeping position, either alone and with someone?
[40] How picky they are with food, do they have specific dietary requirements based on their health or culture?
[41] What’s their usual morning routine?
[42] What is their idea of a perfect friendly hangout and/or romantic date?
[43] Do they enjoy flirting or being flirted with?
[44] On a party, where would you find them?
[45] For an event, would they dress like they typically do, or go all out?
[46] Would they rather dress to look attractive or to feel comfortable, and what would they never wear?
[47] Do they drink alcohol, and if they do, how much and how often?
[48] Are they, or were they at some point in their life, a part of any subculture?
___
[49] Do they possess any unexpected skill or knowledge that surprises others, and otherwise, what is something anyone would assume they know or can do, but in fact they don’t?
[50] What are they really good and really bad at?
[51] How good are they with money?
[52] Do they speak any other languages aside from their own?
[53] Do they like to sing and how confident they are with their singing?
[54] Do they like giving gifts, and how good are they at picking good gifts?
[55] How long does it take for them to make a new place feel like home, and what do they need for it?
[56] How would they react to hearing a dirty joke?
[57] What was the most stupid or dangerous thing they have ever done?
[58] In the situation where they had to choose, would they rather stay loyal to their morals or to people they love?
[59] What would they want to be remembered for?
[60] If they were to commit a crime, what kind of crime would it most likely be?
---
some of these question were written myself, some are the courtesy of my friend, and some were brought from my questionnaires in my old fandom. if you use them, please reblog or link back to this post
obligatory valentunes oc ask, with a bit of a twist! for any OC you might want to talk about, note their closest relationships (romantic, platonic, familial, whatever) and assign each a number. roll a dice (any dice will do; the mighty dice app or an online randomizer if this is easier!). whatever result you get, share something about that OC's relationship with the other character that you might not have gotten to talk about yet! doesn't have to be about valentines specifically, just. anything about their relationship, how they interact, their dynamic--whatever you like to share when it comes to a valuable person in their life.
(i.e. for cassia, i might write 1-oliver, 2-esme, 3-don, 4-leo, 5-mikey, 6-raph, and roll a 6 sided dice. i roll a 6, so i share something about cassia and raph's relationship!)
omg a dice game! i love dice games!! <- outing myself as a d&d nerd
Tommy and Raph, literally my favorite duo. i’m mainly talking about 03 here but this is applicable to rise and my personal iteration, with some tweaks.
when tommy first gets mutated, he’s like—a tiny baby but rapidly grows. this is mostly because i wanted the Turtles to interact with a baby at some point and play older brother/uncle. tommy’s growth is significantly faster than “normal”—in the first year he’s mutated, he goes from a baby to the size and cognitive maturity of a 7-year-old. year two is a bit slower and he grows from 7-12ish, and by then fast forward whisks people away. this is sorta important for later.
anyway
when he’s still young, he’s terrified of raph. raph isn’t trying to be scary—he’s actually consciously trying to be more approachable when tommy gets dropped off at the lair (brooke has classes and a job by this point). tommy warms up to leo and don relatively quickly because of their quieter energy, and learns fairly soon just how soft splinter is so he seeks snuggles from him and likes listening to splinter’s stories at bedtime on the rare occasion brooke works late. mikey basically says “you need a playmate. i shall be your playmate” and encourages him to play (mikey has to adjust his play-style since tommy is very much not into scary things like superheroes).
mikey tends to drag tommy into pranking his bros while they’re goofing off and playing—something that raph gets loud and yells about out of habit, which doesn’t exactly help tommy feel comfortable around him. raph’s more mad at mikey cuz raph’s trying to get this kid to stop shaking and clinging to the nearest safe person whenever he walks in.
there’s a few small moments that help tommy slowly open up more—but it’s the fateful day that don and raph go out to get snacks and bring tommy along that really changes tommy’s tune toward raph.
see, on their way there, they get cornered by purple dragons. raph—already hungry and frustrated cuz this is like the first time tommy actually came to him with something, and now he’s been interrupted by these goons—takes his anger out on them. after they’ve run off, he realizes this isn’t a good look (fighting with extreme prejudice?? this kid doesn’t even like fake violence!) and asks how tommy is, expecting the 5ish yo to cower behind donnie.
instead, tommy clings to raph’s leg. raph is now safety. he got rid of the bad guys, for tommy.
their interests don’t often align, but raph slowly loosens up more and feels like he doesn’t have to censor himself or his demeanor since tommy has it in his head that raph only hurts bad guys. tommy loves just observing, which now applies to when the guys practice ninjutsu. and he eventually asks to learn how to flip, how to block, how to throw a punch.
raph’s also the only one who never really,,, i don’t wanna say “used a baby voice,” but like—kids can kinda tell when you talk down on them. the others all have their moments, and it’s not meant to be condescending, but raph’s the only one who doesn’t do that. raph gives it to tommy straight, every time. sometimes it’s slightly censored for young ears, but it’s still truth.
so when the guys get whisked away to the future and it’s just tom, april, casey (and an OC my sister made that i don’t have time to get into dhshdsh)… tom takes it hard.
after they get back, though, tom’s a preteen. he’s not a kid anymore! and nobody seems to see it!…
except raph.
everyone else is still stuck in the mindset of tom being a child. brooke has an entire arc of accepting it, since that’s her baby. but raph? raph gets home and notices right away and says “thank god. i can swear around you now, right? we can watch pg-13 movies at movie night again??” and tom appreciates it.
—
Brooke: ok i’m not gonna lie i got very excited to share how her and Mikey’s dynamic works because ive had brainrot for the both of them for... literal years. mind you, i ship them, but to me they’re both on the aro- and ace- spectrums. there’s definitely some projecting here.
Brooke was extremely sheltered, didn’t have a lot of friendships. she meets the turtles very briefly and gets excited because HELLO ALIEN MUTATIONS THATS SICK AF but the turtles are busy saving the world!!! so.,.,, she gets lonely, gets in with a bad crowd, becomes a werewolf, yadda yadda… anyway, after all that happens, she’s been rescued by the turtles and mikey is ecstatic. i like to think since he’s so interested with connecting with humans, anyone he has a remotely neutral or positive interaction with, he’s pushing for more. he wants friends. and, let’s be honest, he probably wants a friend his age. as soon as they rescued brooke, he was like “i will make her my friend.”
part of it is the challenge—she’s very quiet and very shy, so getting her to open up is like—what kind of jokes makes her laugh? how do i get her to talk? (there’s a very brief time when brooke’s got her Resting Bitch Face on and mikey wonders if he’s annoying her) but he accidentally stumbles across those Autism Infodump Unskippable Cutscenes and he’s like “finally!!” she explains chemistry and biology to him and when he asks questions, instead of being annoyed, she’s so so excited to explain. so he’s like “wait a sec. i’m not The Stupid One™ to her. i like this feeling.” (not that his bros always reduce him to that, but he has sort of backed himself into a corner playing the role of class clown to lighten the mood for them, and they do sorta enable him to do it more).
so he just dives straight in. “we’re friends now. deal with it.” which is very very good for brooke who’s always needed a literal verbal confirmation for that sort of thing. he treats her like a friend, and she’s never had a good friend role model before, so she assumes mikey’s doing it right and just copies him. oh, he made her some art? she wrote a short fic for him. he asks her about her interests, she asks about his. he treats her as smart, so she treats him the same.
best of all, mikey doesn’t have to fit into a specific perceived role with her. she, in turn, had been playing the role of Perfect Student, Perfect Daughter, So Mature For Your Age, So Smart, Such Potential, and gets to loosen up around mike… it’s more like he literally shakes it out of her. endorses her “cringe” or “stupid” behaviors and interests. he gets her into superheroes and now she’s up all night writing fanfic. basically just helps her be less repressed and more indulgent (to everyone else, they think he’s corrupting her. no. he is helping. and she does help him learn to be a bit more responsible). he calls on her a lot while galavanting as Turtle Titan with his superhero buddies. this doesn’t have to do with anything, i just needed to mention it.
i have like this whole arc planned for a fast forward rewrite that gets… deeper into their relationship and individual characters but it would take too much to write here, haha. i guess the long story short would be: they both go through a bad mental health season in 2105 and lean on each other so much that leo sets them up on a date. and. that’s it. not a lot changes (they do have a brief crisis cuz “how do you relationship??” but also. “do we need to relationship like that or can we do it our own way?”)
and of course, they both bring home every single stray they can find. it drives everyone else nuts.
—
T’Ytian and his MAMA (this is gonna be so fun to write—)
first off—his mama is a well regarded and respected warrior. but she’s also got a strong sense of family—something salamandrians don’t typically have. in their culture, you drop your eggs off to the axolotl-like designated caretakers, and then pick a youngling that shows promise in your particular field of expertise. she didn’t do that. she said “i will let you care for my children until they’re of age to join me on land and then i want my babies back.”
she still takes care to notice what her children are proficient in and has a “tutor” of sorts to help them perfect their technique for whatever career they take. but she also teaches them herself.
she’s always been very encouraging, telling T’Ytian he’s meant to do great things and he can accomplish anything he sets his mind to. she has big expectations for him—of course, he’s her son. T’Ytian is a total mama’s boy in that it’s one of his greatest motivators: make mom proud. (don’t ever make a yo mama joke in his vicinity he’ll tear you apart)
she adores her children to the ends of the earth—all 9 of ‘em. three are older than T’Ytian and have already shown INCREDIBLE precision and expertise in their designated fields (a pilot, a capital guard, and a black-ops soldier). T’Ytian and his twin T’Vekyl are next—so how will they impress her?
the expectations are a bit… heavy, though.
there’s a point when a young t’ytian is upset after hearing his dad died in action, runs off into the wilderness and runs into a particular creature*. he gets cornered in a cave, the thing attacks and he barely makes it out alive, covered in blood from both his own injuries and the creature’s. he goes home and just sobs into mama’s embrace and explains what happens.
and. his mama cannot understand why her boy is crying if he won the fight.
*that particular creature, no one really expected a youngling t’ytian’s age to… survive. so he graduates as a protégée to the next level because everyone, but mostly mom, was so impressed he took it out.
she does specify that his emotions are likely inherited from his father, and that while she has no issues with him expressing himself… the rest of the salamandrians probably won’t understand. and a lack of understanding in their culture usually means being ostracized. so she “encourages” him to keep them in check.
T’Ytian is in training to become an escort—a job consisting of having the skills to protect whomever you’re escorting, as well as basic piloting and a tiny bit of engineering just in case the ship malfunctions. but an escort’s primary purpose is keep the other person alive, even if it means sacrificing yourself. it’s one of the most difficult professions to train since it goes against basic instincts and has so many moving pieces to it. T’Ytian, thankfully, is paired with his best friend. it’s easier to sacrifice yourself for someone you already care about than a total stranger (of course, this ties back to his emotions—the driving force of why he’s so protective of his best friend).
so he’s in the most difficult profession and nailing it? that’s impressive. surely her boy will do great things and help salamandrian society advance in big ways!…
after t’ytian is on earth for a short time and learns from brooke and the other mutanimals, he gets home and everything seems… off. he can’t unsee and unlearn how his mind got opened while on earth. questions start popping up that he digs into and suddenly the answers make him sickened. but the rest of his people don’t seem to care…
including mama.
she always taught him to be true to himself. granted, the “truth” she was talking of was still under the acceptable umbrella of salamandrian culture. but now her boy has been tainted by those filthy terrans from earth.
and t’ytian… he used to go to her with everything. but now some of the things she’s said in the past aren’t making sense—or they’re making a little too much sense, in the worst way possible.
do any of your OCs have body modifications? this could include things as simple or subtle as your “usual” earlobe piercing or a small tattoo, to something more elaborate and noticeable. if they do, does it have a special/personal significance or meaning to them? or did they get it entirely For The Vibe™?
if they don’t have any body mods, have they considered getting some and what would they want? or is it something they have no interest in? do they have an aversion toward any kind of body modifications, be it personal or cultural reasons?
*note that this question is focused on body mods that the character chose to receive, primarily as self-expression, but if they have a good relationship with/are proud of any body mods tied to the culture they grew up in or are a part of, you can include those, too!
oh this sounds fun!
also this took FOREVER cuz i wanted to make art for each of these but i never go around to it, whoops
brooke gets a few tattoos and piercings, but most of it is after she finishes college
- wolfsbane plant on her arm (as like. a tribute to the whole werewolf thing)
- the semi-colon but made into a butterfly on her wrist (for mental health awareness, also to signify her transformation)
- a small turtle shell on her ankle (because turtles)
(and maybe more, i haven’t decided)
- she had pierced ears for a while but her healing is so much faster than a human’s, so after the third or fourth re-pierce, she just gave up on it. occasionally she wears clip-ons.
- she dyed her hair with a bit of green once but it was very noticeable in wolf-form and she didn’t wanna risk anyone identifying her, so no more hair dye :(
—
i have like. several versions of cam that vary how techno vs organic she is. in her more organic versions (where she has hair), she gets a white streak of hair (it’s a side effect of being brought back to life by an allspark fragment, but she likes to dye it to make it really pop). she can’t get normal tattoos since her skin is now made up of nano-metals and too thick to put ink into—cybertronians tend to chisel away at their armor to give them the same sorta thing we do for tattoos, but cam’s a wimp when it comes to pain. same with piercings—she could, but prefers not to. loves seeing it on others, though!
in most forms, cam regularly maintains having a sorta black-tear-stains makeup look. i would also say she considers the Upgrade to be at least partially her choice, since she put on the tech suit (that just happened to merge with her, one way or another).
—
salamandrians only have body modifiers if they think it could help them in battle, but they usually aren’t permanent. some of their people can regrow limbs entirely so they get temporary prosthetics—like a tail, but they add a mace to the end of it to make the warrior more deadly (like G’Throkka, for example).
t’ytian would learn of tattoos and piercings and would probably want to get the classic “mom 💘” tattoo, but he can’t go to a tat shop because of… this whole situation, so he doesn’t get it before he has to go back to salamandria :/
—
tommy isn’t against any of that stuff, but would prefer not to on himself because pain is scary and he actually rather likes his natural markings :] also maintaining anything would be a pain in the butt (he has seen and heard brooke complain about maintaining tattoos and especially piercings and has no interest—there’s better things to do than fret over self expression!)
when it comes to their immediate family, what are your OC’s relationships like? how do they feel about their parents or guardians? what are qualities their parents or guardians have that they hate or admire? do they hope to be like them someday? or does the idea of mirroring their parents/guardian in even a small way make them uncomfortable? was there one they spent more time with than the other? do they have siblings? are they close with their siblings, or is there distance or tension? if they’re no longer in contact or separated from their biological or home family, do they have people they’ve chosen as family? do they have chosen family in addition to their biological/home family? who would they reach out to first in case of an emergency?
BUCKLE UP THIS IS GONNA BE LONG BECAUSE I LOVE FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS
Brooke has a few guardians: her grandparents on her mother’s side, and her mother (her father is also sometimes included but he differs a lot based on each iteration so i won’t include him. all you need to know is he’s absent, not dead).
brooke’s grandparents (Maliah and Juan Ramirez) are definitely the best positive influence she had growing up, and the reason she’s not… worse. but they were also dealing with a little weird girl with Big Emotions and while they had the best intentions, some of their tactics weren’t the best. i.e. they’d try to get her to calm down before she’d fully felt and expressed her emotions, they’d also give her waaaay more responsibility than her age warranted. she's got mostly positive feelings toward them. she got their intelligence, diligence, compassion, and passion from them, and hopes to one day do her part. mirroring them is a conscious thing brooke tries to do.
neither is inherently closer to brooke, i'd say, they just play different roles. abuela was usually the one deciding and dishing out discipline, but also recognized brooke was quick to pick up on things and gave brooke confidence by entrusting her with responsibility (like the feeding and caring of the animals). abuelo tended to just indulge brooke so long as it seemed safe—he’s the one who went to the store to pick up lab equipment and helped brooke put together chemical bombs in their driveway before abuela yelled at them haha. he's also the one who encouraged her to learn to bake (so he could "test out" her baked goods—which to be fair, he earned, given the first several times were really bad, but he faked enjoyment just so brooke would keep going)
brooke loves them to death but they’re also very religious. and brooke being a werewolf—which is associated with darkness, evil, witchcraft, curses—makes for a bit of a tense relationship now. they do not know, to be clear. brooke keeps it from them since she’s terrified they’ll disown her (or worse) if they find out. her grandparents also are very, very adamant about brooke bonding with her mother, which isn’t something brooke wants...
julia… was/is absent emotionally. brooke doesn’t even really think of her or refer to her as her “mom” except around julia (to avoid a shitstorm) and with people she doesn’t wanna explain this to (like her grandparents, and strangers). brooke has a lot of her mother’s traits which reeeeeally fuels the fear and hatred she feels toward herself, like her emotionally avoidant tendencies, big emotions, pride in self-sufficiency (that feels like she’ll be punished for asking for help), bad habits she’s picked up… not to mention the fact she looks so much like her mother—oh my godddd all the comments she gets. staring at herself in the mirror feels like a bitter reminder that she’s destined to become like her mother. and brooke hates it. some days she thinks "what would julia do?" and then does the opposite just to spite her.
it’s a toss-up on if tommy is brooke’s “little brother” or “son”—they tow the line, sorta like a huge age gap for siblings where the older “raises” the younger. the two are like peas in a pod though, joined at the hip most of the time. this causes some codependency, though, and makes it hard for tommy to spread his wings since brooke is so protective. she's trying to mimic what her grandparents did, with a little more emphasis on being emotionally supportive. it's a struggle, though, since her mother's habits run deep.
after getting rescued by and adopted into the turtles’ crew, brooke considers them family (oftentimes, she feels closer to the turtles’ crew than her biological family). they are the ones she’s called in the case of an emergency.
i’d classify splinter as a guardian/mentor to a degree, seeing as it’s his meditation techniques and teachings that have helped brooke “tame” her wolf side enough to function. splinter also reminds brooke of abuela so they get along fairly well.
—
tommy ofc has brooke, who he adores and would literally travel to hell and back for. but she’s also incredibly protective to the point it’s suffocating sometimes. and i’d be lying if i said her overprotective nature didn’t contribute to his anxiety. but she’s also gone through some shit by this point, and is fairly ok at not squashing tommy’s emotions. she’s not the best with herself, but if it’s tommy, she's significantly more supportive and gracious.
she’s headstrong and stubborn, but also denser than osmium, holy shit. tommy, by contrast, is very observant and picks up small cues really quickly. he’s also less stubborn and more likely to take a following position than a leading one. he looks up to her, and doesn’t mind the traits he shares with her like their big emotions, but he also recognizes that their differences make them a better team. being like her isn’t the goal, but it’s not something he’d hate. comparisons mostly make him nod and go “yeah, that makes sense,” but there’s no positive or negative connotation to it—it’s just a fact. of course he’s like brooke.
tommy also considers splinter and the turtles (and casey and april) his guardians, siblings, family. they have many dynamics and roles they fit into.
you remember how in 2003, splinter dressed up as santa in the christmas aliens? i’m picturing splinter loves kids. wants kids/grandkids. two comments in rottmnt also confirm this headcanon for me but part of that lore is that splinter was human once. anyway. splinter already raised some turtle boys, so what’s one more? he tends to dote on tommy a bit, and enjoys tommy’s questions. tommy is very low energy and a nice change of pace from the four teens who seem to find trouble wherever they go lol. tommy also loved snuggling up into splinter’s fur and hearing stories before bedtime when he was teeny tiny, and it was splinter’s favorite part of the day to put tommy down for a nap.
they are both quiet/low-energy and observant. splinter’s very attuned to the spiritual side of things whereas tommy is best attuned with his emotions (and sometimes others’ as well). tommy also loves to just sit and observe splinter in the dojo, occasionally asking questions. it’s always a treat for splinter to mediate with him.
similar to splinter, don and leo carry that quieter energy that tommy just gravitated toward early on. they’re the first ones tommy openly directs questions to, usually after silently observing for 3 days straight. it takes a bit for the two to get used to it since tommy isn’t asking the beginner questions (he already figured out most of that stuff) and typically hits them with a “how can you tell the difference between solar plexus and sacral chakra blockage?” or “what's the difference between java and python coding?” (note: this is mostly for 2003–in other iterations, the order of which turtle/s tommy warms up to first varies. it’s a safe bet it’s probably leo though)
mikey and tommy both get gold stars for being observant of others and how the dynamics typically work. they’re also probably the most attuned to their own emotions, except in specific circumstances. tommy knows this so when the comparisons are made, he’s happy to take it as a compliment. it did take him a while to warm up to mikey (though not quite as long as raph).
once he warms up to raph, tommy’s hanging with raph almost as much as he’s with brooke. raph’s also protective and makes tommy feel safe, but raph doesn’t have the baggage and guilt brooke carries about tommy getting mutated, so he’s a bit more chill and less suffocating. raph also adores tommy since the kid’s got a sharp mind and a sharper tongue. they share many high-threes after one gives off a good zinger, usually at the expense of casey or mikey. and of course, splinter can get a good zinger in as well.
they’re both loyal to a fault, protective (it shows up differently), and emotional. tommy tends to get loud when anxious, which comes across as angry sometimes. they’ve both got snark and tend to call it like it is, no reason to beat around the bush.
tommy is pretty confident in who he is and while he will mimic small things, generally he recognizes that the differences between himself and others makes for a stronger team, a better friendship. he’s not actively looking to become like anyone, but when comparisons are made, he beams about it for the next two days straight. obviously he’s also happy to have positive traits compared to the others, too, but he has a lot of respect and admiration for raph in particular.
—
t’ytian has four parental figures/guardians—his (biological) mother and father (k’ythka and t’bakka, respectfully), G’Throkka his mentor, and his step-father, g’byvak (name may change).
he’s also got eight siblings: five full-siblings and three half-siblings.
t’ytian kiiiiinda idolizes his dad—mainly because all his memories of dad are pleasant and dad died when t’ytian was like 8. t’ytian gets his big emotions from t’bakka (his mom says), and he was intelligent, charismatic, welcoming, constantly curious and open-minded, which t’ytian also picked up. his dad was also a bit odd with his hobbies, and liked to mold clay and whittle wood, which t’ytian remembers his dad showing him and has continued the tradition. he loves the idea of being like t’bakka and revels in all the comparisons, but it feels somewhat unattainable and hollow, given his dad is gone.
t’ytian gets his pride from his mother, k’ythka, who leads a squadron to protect the city from the various kaiju-like monsters roaming salamandria. she’s also incredibly loyal and caring to those who have earned her loyalty, which t’ytian learned from her. he adores his mama and wants to make her proud, and she makes it clear she believes he could change the world. which he does. with the rebellion.
G’Throkka taught t’ytian almost everything he knows about combat, and has been his mentor for years. they’re both escorts/bodyguards and share traits like extreme loyalty and a willingness to self-sacrifice being etched in their blood. t’ytian considers G’Throkka to be close to a father-figure given that role needed filling in his life. t’ytian’s whole deal is to become more like G’Throkka, and he often asks himself what G'Throkka would do in a given situation.
with t’ytian’s step-dad, t’y felt… averse to it (idolizing your dead dad will do that). g’byvak is more strict and less charming than his father, so listening and obeying didn’t come as naturally. they also argue since t’ytian’s time spent on earth gave him a new appreciation for things salamandrians take for granted or straight-up abuse. it also doesn’t help that g’byvak is a fairly high ranking officer for the salamandrian armies. if a similaritywere to be pointed out, t'ytian would politely nod and thank the commenter before changing the subject. internally, he's rolling his eyes and rationalizing how much he isn't like g'byvak.
out of all his siblings, t’ytian is emotionally closest to t’vekyl—his twin sister. she’s a rebellious girl, as opposed to t’ytian who grew up as a major people-pleaser. they share the same big emotions but the way those emotions come out differs drastically. while t’ytian tends to be optimistic, give people the benefit of the doubt, and internalize unwanted/unpleasant emotions, t’vekyl is abrasive and pessimistic, and unafraid to speak her mind. t’ytian is ready to throw down because he thinks you wanna spar for the love of the game, t’vekyl would honestly rather chew you out verbally than raise a weapon, but she will if needed. she’s training to be a medic, which is a very under appreciated career in their culture, and is constantly being bombarded with expectations others have for her that she’s not meeting—like her career, but also how she needs to settle down and start a clutch of eggs soon. the salamandrian conquest needs soldiers, after all. t’ytian, by contrast, has hidden the traits he has that his society deemed “undesirable.” only his immediate family know of his wood carving/clay sculpting (and after he gets back from earth, his music). none of them really support him in it, except t’vekyl.
next closest is the brother who was born after his dad died, the last of his full-siblings—t’bakkok. he’s quiet and intelligent, preferring to work on his inventions or test something out over sparring or hiking around in the wilderness. t’ytian loves to sit quietly next to him as the two work on their projects, occasionally holding it up for the other to wordlessly nod approval over. t’ytian tends to match the energy of whoever he’s around so when it’s with t’bakkok it’s a chill quiet afternoon. fun fact! t’bakkok is named after his father, t’bakka, and is almost exactly the same in looks :)
he’s got three older siblings that he’s less close to. the oldest, his sister v’klyst, and then the twin second oldests t’vonis and t’kyptych. v’klyst is a high ranking guard for the Capital and she is friendly, quiet, and strategic. t’vonis is a pilot, sometimes to deliver soldiers or supplies, sometimes he scouts out nearby planets for salamandria to conquer. he’s arrogant and impulsive and loves teasing t’ytian (t’vonis also thinks he’s charismatic). t’kyptych is an enforcer (sort of like their version of the police) and is quiet and stoic. t’ytian shares the friendliness of v’klyst, the arrogance and impulsiveness of t’vonis (though not to the degree of t’vonis), and shares loyalty and strictness for rules with t’kyptych. t’ytian has no real opinion on whether sharing traits with any of them is “good” or “bad” (although he finds t’vonis’s antics to be annoying and would rather not be compared to him). uhh… there’s some tension after the rebellion, seeing as they worked against the rebellion that t'ytian helped.
then there’s the triplets, his half-siblings, who are all very young and still figuring themselves out. t’ytian enjoys chucking them into the nearby lake and playing with them. their names are a wip but my notes says they’re called t’byvrak, k’ythkak, and g’byva (names are meant to be combos of dad, mom, and step-dad's names).
—
cam had a more “traditional” family (more than the above characters haha). except... she leaves earth.
cam was born with a heart defect and partial deafness which caused the family a lot of strife early on (both emotional and financial—they’re still recovering).
unfortunately, her mother has a lot of resentment built up from the tension, so cam tended to get blamed for things and held to a higher standard by her mother. to her mother, alex could do no wrong, and cam could do nothing right. so cam has stopped trying to please her mother and hates when comparisons are made. unfortunately, they are a lot alike—stubborn, passionate, introverted, emotional... and with a built-up resentment toward each other, they tend to step on each others' toes.
by contrast, cam’s father went the complete opposite direction, instead treating cam as a delicate butterfly and constantly advocating for cam against her mother (this does not help their marriage…). she’s daddy’s girl (and knows it) but tries not to abuse the power too much. she loves her father to the moon and back, but feels like he’s patronizing at times. she loves him, but also doesn't put him on a pedestal.
alex kinda grew up with cam getting a lot of the attention, due to her medical needs, but was old enough (and his father explained) that it's necessary and not indicative of cam being the favorite and that they love him too. his father also explained that because of these needs, alex needs to be a good brother and protect cam whenever he can. this thankfully kept them still pretty close even after both becoming adults. alex is the one to tell cam to do what she wants when it's time to choose.
and she chooses to go into space, with the bots—her found, chosen family.
nebula is in a very unique place with cam. one that would take too long to explain since it goes back so far. but she's always been there for cam. even before cam was cam, nebula was there for her. so cam trusts her, inherently, instinctively, unconsciously. cam doesn't consciously try to be like nebula, but it's definitely there. they're both curious and diligent to find answers, a bit socially dense (though nebula exceeds cam by miles—amnesia will do that to you). despite being so close emotionally, cam doesn't actually spend a ton of time with nebula after meeting the rest of the bots.
bulkhead, endeavor, and bumblebee take those spots.
bulkhead is cam's unofficial guardian, typically taking the initiative to protect cam when they get into dangerous situations. he's also the very first bot cam formed a real friendship with, and easily the one cam trusts the most consciously. both of them are sensitive and careful to think things through, and typically anxious at bumblebee's antics.
cam and bee... have a bit of a rocky start. bee's pretty abrasive at the newcomer, and cam picks this up and assumes he hates her. it's a misunderstanding of course, that gets resolved and leads them to grow closer. this is a terrible thing for everyone else, because bee will easily convince cam to join him in adrenaline-pumping, daredevilish situations. though cam tries to play the straight man, she would never admit it, but being treated as normal instead of a fragile butterfly feels so good. she starts picking up his sassier attitude and cockiness later on, without realizing it. this is upsetting to cam's best friend, who hates bee with a passion—endeavor.
endeavor and cam are like twins, two peas in a pod, platonic soulmates from the get-go. they're best friends, they're ride or die. endeavor and cam are both part machine and part organic, literally on the same (eye) level. they're both very sensitive, emotional, but endeavor seems to have figured out how to deal with it by this point. cam looks up to endeavor in so many ways, trying to be like her. which is great, endeavor always wanted a twin to agree with her. unlike her own twin. but that's another story.
germansingergirl
izzy806
blakekathryn
romaincrisis
theartofmadeline
