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Help Rana Alsawalhi and Yousef Albuhaisi evacuate their extended family to the Netherlands! Currently they are at €4,162/73,500. This is a verified fund.

DONATE HERE

the updated turtle hands woohoo, hope these look better :]

A Turtle By Any Other Name

Because I had a little too much time on my hands: a tally of the names everyone's favourite sewer family uses for each other throughout the first season of TMNT 2003!

Includes all direct addresses, names given to a third party, and names dropped during the the pre-episode narrations.

As you'd expect, a few expected trends jump out immediately - the impact of Leo's close relationship with his sensei, the A-team / B-team pairings, Master Splinter's determination to stick to the full names he chose thank you very much. But there were some interesting little quirks too!

• Leo narrowly wins the prize of being the top turtle on everyone's lips, scoring a total of 96 mentions over 26 episodes. Michelangelo is right on his tail with 94, though - and he does it without any Raph nicknames or a dedicated coma episode. That's talent.

• Leo returns the favour at least, hollering after everyone a whole 135 times. Raph comes in second with a respectable 99.

• Leo names Master Splinter 49 times to Raph's 17 - but fascinatingly, it's Raph who claims the only two references any of them make to Splinter being their father. Overall, the kids keep it respectful - "Master Splinter" or "Sensei" are the preferred addresses by far. Notably, while the older brothers might occasionally drop the Master, youngest Mikey does not.

• Who's playing favourites? Well, possibly Donnie - 52% of the time he's naming a brother, it's Michelangelo. Mikey, on the other hand, is pretty egalitarian, with only a few points of difference separating his bros (though Don's his favourite too).

• When the brothers full-name each other it doesn't necessarily mean they're mad, but they do tend to be making a point of some kind. It's fitting, then, that Leo follows in Splinter's footsteps by being one of the main culprits, and often reserves it for serious moments. Mikey, in contrast, is almost always making a jab ("poor choice, Raphael!" "Leonardo, you got some 'splaining to do..."). The middle children don't really go there at all - Raph drops a Donatello once in a narration, and otherwise makes a sweet gesture in reintroducing the new and improved "Leonardo" to the family following his recovery from Shredder's beatdown. And I have embarrassingly forgotten the context for Don's single Michelangelo... but I'd wager it was chiding.

• Donnie is the standout in having two diminutives that are used often and interchangeably by all his brothers, with only Leo showing a real preference (Don > Donnie). There wasn't any noticeable tone-mapping either; everyone just kind of switches it around whenever.

• There are a couple of Mikes in there too! Again, I don't think it lined up with any particular mood or scenario, besides dropping earlier in the season rather than later.

• Raphie is a rare and precious nickname reserved exclusively for little brothers (and sometimes Casey). As it should be.

• I expected Raph to be more of a nicknamer overall given his colourful speech patterns, but when you filter out all the off-hand 'bonehead' and 'oddball' insults, there's not actually that much going on. A single Fearless for Leo, a couple Brainiacs for Don...it'd be interesting to see if that changes at all as the show goes on. And in retrospect, maybe I should have counted his 'bro's.

• The single 'bud' Leo throws Don's way tickles me. He never does it again, and never does it to anyone else either! Early instalment weirdness?

something something pattern recognition

I want to be the first person on the moon to shoot a sniper rifle at earth and hit a wasp nest.  my whole life so far is leading up to that moment

Please reblog if you have an active TMNT Tumblr and don't post hate towards any of the versions/incarnations! I would love to spread some Ninja Turtles positivity and love right now!

if anyone has money to spare for donations, im forwarding more links for palestinian aid

CareforGaza is a nonprofit that provides direct aid to Palestine, and you can donate directly here

Operation Olive Branch is a document that lists evacuating families that need assistance, which gives information on the families, the urgency, and tracks the progress of their fundraisers

eSims for Gaza lists very clear instructions on how to purchase e-sims to keep them connected, they are urgently in demand

Here is a project that distributes feminine hygiene kits directly to Gaza

Mutual Aid Diabetes has channels set up for you to donate insulin and medication to diabetics in Gaza, as well as lists fundraisers for diabetics seeking to evacuate

please keep sharing and adding links on this site, please add more if i'd missed any, and please don't stop talking about Palestine.

Rereading the Lord of the Rings series recently, and it's so fascinating to me how much the series is a denial of the typical juvenile power-fantasy that is associated with the fantasy genre.

Like, the power-fantasy is the temptation the Ring uses against people It tempts Boromir with becoming the "one true king" that could save his people with fantastic power. It tempts Sam with being the savior of Middle Earth and turning the ruin that is Mordor into a great garden. It tempts Gandalf and Galadriel with being the messianic figure of legend who brings salvation to Middle Earth and great glory to herself.

The things the Ring tempts people with are becoming the typical protagonists of fantasy stories that we expect to see. and over and over we see that accepting that role, that fantasy of being the benevolent all-powerful hero, is a bad thing. LotR is about how power, even power wielded with benevolent intent, is corrupting.

And its so fascinating how so much of modern fantasy buys into the very fantasy LotR denies. Most modern fantasy is about being that Heroic power-fantasy. About good amassing power to rival evil. But LotR dares not to. It dares to be honest that there is no world where anyone amasses that power and remains good.

I guess that's one of the reasons its so compelling.

To The Substitute Art Teacher - Jordan Bolton

Rise of the Parallel!

1- A Cut Short Party: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4 2- The Krang Be Back: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 3- Seeing Red: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4 4- Corrupted Logic: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4 5- Colliding Worlds: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4 6- The Boiling Point: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4 7- Eye of the Storm: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4 8- Lurking in the Shadows: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4 9- Bad News: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4 10- Retribution: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5

11- Hell on Earth: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4 12- The Crystal Shards: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4 13- The Promise: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4 14- End Game: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 15- Owari: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4 Please enjoy! :]

Rise of the Parallel Specials:

Mikey and Ice Cream Kitty Short (Christmas)

Reeses off a Paraglider (April Fools Day)

Behind the Scenes Potty Mouth (Special Request)

Ad-Lib Bathroom Brake (Special Request)

The Typo Saboteur (Special Request)

Crowdfundr

Rise of the Parallel - Comic Book Volumes 1 & 2, Complete Set

Get your hands on the first ever printed edition Rise of the Parallel by Indie Y. This two-volume set, with over 360 full color pages, inclu

Get your hands on the first ever printed edition Rise of the Parallel by Indie Y. This two-volume set, with over 360 full color pages, includes all 15 chapters plus never-before-seen bonus content!

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