(no subject)

[cowabunga]

❥ Character Information

Character Name: Michelangelo Hamato
Character Age: 15
Character Species: Ornate box turtle mutated with human DNA.
Current Health: Alive and well.
Outfit: The movie getup: mask, belt, knee pads, and wraps on his arms and legs.

Character Canon: Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Link to History: Here.
Canon Point: Post movie.
Canon Iteration: Original.
Canon Iteration Explanation: N/A

❥ Folkmore Roles & Attributes

Skills: Ninjutsu, acrobatics, athleticism, cooking, art.
Canon Abilities: Mikey-specific and Hamato Ninpo. Obviously, game-breaking portals are off the table.
Role: Legend.
Role Qualities/Attributes: He can manifest wings made from hard light constructs, similar in color/aesthetic to when he uses his mystic powers.
Role Reasoning: The role of Legend is something for him to grow into, a nudge in the direction of becoming the best version of himself. Mikey is a pretty good kid overall—his worst moments are usually brought on by being selfish or thoughtless rather than genuinely malicious—and his motivations are solid. Whether he’s accepting former villains into the family with open arms or putting his life on the line in a last minute Hail Mary to save a brother, the forces that drive him are compassion, hope, and love. Being a Legend will build on that baseline altruism and help him extend his reach beyond his family.

❥ Personality

Option 2. Choose FOUR-FIVE of the following questions to answer and expand upon. Each answer has a 100-300 word requirement.
Option 2 questions (4-5). 100-300 word limit each:

❥ What was the most traumatic experience your character endured? How did this change them?

The events of the movie were rough on Mikey in a number of ways, but the worst part by far was just how close he came to losing his brothers. During the course of an alien invasion Raph was captured and turned against them, Leo sacrificed himself to a prison dimension to secure the win, and Donnie almost got taken out (protecting Mikey specifically!) on more than one occasion. That’s a marked difference from the rest of the series, where, even when things were dire, they usually had the luxury of facing certain doom together.

The surrounding circumstances weren’t exactly a picnic either—an apocalyptic-level threat razing NYC to the ground is pretty traumatic in itself—but it was the compounding personal loss and subsequent feeling of helplessness that really pushed Mikey to where we see him by the end of the movie, when all that grief and desperation fueled him to tap into his powers and (almost) make a dramatic sacrifice of his own. Things ultimately worked out, but that day very much stands as a Before and After moment in Mikey’s life, and as a reminder that his family isn’t as invincible as he’d wanted to believe.

❥ What is the most important and defining relationship(s) in your character's life and why?

Mikey’s brothers are absolutely core to his identity. Being mutants pushes them a step beyond your typical close-knit family and living their earliest years isolated from human society meant they had to fill a lot of roles for each other. He’s always had the built-in support system that comes with being one of four, and some of the more carefree and naive aspects of his character are a direct result of spending his whole life with three older brothers constantly looking out for him.

His status as the youngest is also pretty important. Even if he sometimes bristles at being overprotected or underestimated, he gets plenty of enjoyment out of being doted on too. While Mikey isn't lacking in individual interests or personality, so much of who he is—consciously accepted or not—was shaped by the ways he's followed in his big brothers' footsteps. He looks up to them, he emulates them, he asks himself what they would do when he’s caught in tough situations. In turn, he sees it as his responsibility to pick up the slack in areas where his brothers are lacking (AKA ever bothering to think about their emotional well-being).

❥ What does your character feel like they struggle with still? Where could they improve? This could be physically, mentally, emotionally, or otherwise.

Mikey’s biggest struggles ultimately revolve around growing up and standing on his own—essentially, the other side of what it means to have his role in his family so firmly intertwined with his sense of self.

He’s bursting with natural talent and potential, including enough latent mystic ability to someday be a true powerhouse, but right now he’s just a kid taking his first uneasy steps. He wants to be seen as capable and independent, but he very often needs help both in and out of combat. The strategy and skill he displays in low stakes situations sometimes disappears when the tension is high enough, causing him to freeze up instead of act. He doesn’t want to be coddled but is largely unprepared to face the harshness of the world head-on, and has a trusting nature that can push him to leap into potentially bad situations without giving thought to the consequences. Basically, it’s the inherent contradiction that comes with being a young teenager: the desire to be self-reliant (but not too self-reliant) and the whole messy process of getting there.

❥ Is your character capable of forgiveness or will they hold a grudge until they die? Would anything ever make them change their mind?

Mikey’s borderline incapable of holding a real grudge. The way he treats his villains is the most obvious example; whether it's scooping Baron Draxum into the family after a season of being terrorized by him or fanboying his favorite celebrity chef despite the repeated murder attempts, the threshold of what he can overlook is astoundingly high. Basically, as long as someone isn’t actively trying to kill him? He’s willing to give them a second chance. While this quickness to forgive is largely born from having a good heart and a drive to see the best in people, it’s also a reflection of how he views the world. He’s a very in the moment guy, causing him to often weigh outcomes more heavily than intentions. As such, getting back in his good graces doesn’t come with a lot of strings attached—doing the right thing now is typically more important than an apology.

Pushing past his limits would take a pretty severe act and, in most cases, it wouldn’t mean that the path to forgiveness is gone entirely—just that someone would have to put in more effort to get there.

❥ Permissions

OOC opt-outs: Not interested in smut, but I don't foresee this being an issue.
IC opt-outs: Nothing in particular; just keep in mind that he's 15 and will respond accordingly.
Content warnings related to the character: Parental neglect, generational trauma, and the general "child soldier" vibe that comes from canons that put the fate of the world on the shoulders of kids.
Sensitive subjects related to the character: He doesn't like being underestimated and is defensive of the people he loves, but nothing is hot button enough to provoke a disproportionate reaction.