Sorry For The Lack Of Art Lately I Think I'm Having An Art Style Identity Crisis Again

I really enjoy looking at Donatello's characterisation - especially the 2012 version of Donnie.

I don't know why, but something specifically about the 2012 iteration of our favourite brothers draws me to them. Maybe it's because I think they have the most interesting and unhealthy brother dynamic to explore out of any version of the Turtles. But just to say right off the bat, I don't agree with the statement that Raphael is abusive toward Mikey in this version. I don't think this to be true at all.

But in the 2012 version of Donnie, I think it's the obsessional aspect of his character that I find interesting. People flame him hard for it - which is very valid - the way he treated April was very creepy, and some of the things he did April had no knowledge of, (Like Donnie taking a photo of her and having it as his laptop wallpaper). But I like doing a little more when it comes to characters' less-than-ideal traits. Yeah, what they're doing is bad, creepy, etc. But why exactly might they be acting that way?

For Donnie, I think his problem is how he looks.

In the 2012 iteration, we never really see the turtles have a strong desire to be human. Mikey sometimes doesn't understand that humans will be scared of him, but he never lashes out and has a big moment like, 'I want to be a human so I can make more friends!' We see Mikey wonder what he'd look like as a human in an episode after Donnie creates retromutagen - with Mikey assuming if he used retromutagen on himself he'd turn human and not back into a regular turtle.

It is played as a joke, though, and he doesn't seem genuinely upset by the fact he's stuck as a turtle, as he is seen smiling after saying he wondered what he'd look like.

Interestingly enough, Donnie is the one to be portrayed as having a negative view attached to being a mutant more than any of his brothers.

Outside of being a mutant, it is implied that Donnie already has a fragile self-image anyway.

Remember the episode Turtle Temper? I think it's the third episode of the first season. But at one point, the other turtles are instructed to shoot arrows at Raph, while Raph has to try and avoid the arrows. Splinter makes it clear, however, that Mikey, Leo, and Donnie are allowed to insult Raphael during the exercise.

I've seen another content creator say that the insults they throw at Raphael could be more them self-projecting views they have on themselves rather than them actually thinking these things about their brother. Leo says, 'And you're always whining, poor me, nobody understands me.'

While this is easily applicable to Raph as an insult from Leo - Leo does have his own fair share of moments where he has gone to Splinter complaining that the others aren't listenting to him or respecting him, that they don't understand the burden he has to hold as leader.

Mikey tells Raph he moves like a bloated buffalo - which, although never hinted at in the show, could imply that maybe Mikey is insecure about how much he eats. Maybe his brothers have made comments about his greediness.

Donnie says, 'Oh! You can't keep your back straight during Omote kote Gyaku! And you're ugly!'

I think the first part is interesting as Donnie is the tallest out of his brothers - gangly limbs could mean Donnie has more difficulty knowing how to stand, where to place his limbs, etc. Donnie most likely is sat over a desk all day, and again, being tall, Donnie has more of a slouched posture out of his brothers. I think it was Karai that also insults Donnie in an episode by calling him scrawny, in which he responds, 'And I'm not scrawny! I'm svelte!' Svelte meaning slender and elegant.

Raph has also insulted Donnie's looks before in an episode, and again, it is unclear if this is a common occurrence, but knowing 2012 Raph's character, it's probably happened on more than one occasion.

Donnie : And why do you keep grabbing me by the face? What is wrong with my face?!

Raph: Do you want me to list the reasons alphabetically or in descending order of grossness?

So regardless of being mutated or not, it seems Donnie just has a generalised lack of confidence and some issues surrounding how tall he is.

But to his issues regarding being mutated.

Donnie might've previously not had any issues with being a mutant. Before, it might've been just a general lack of confidence, as I have already said. But in society, looks are always seen as a good trait to possess if you want to have any shot at a love life. You need to fit into the beauty standards and be attractive if you want a partner.

Before April, his brothers would've been the only thing to compare himself to. He lived in a home with only mutants for fifteen years of his life - so had normal teenager issues of going through puberty and insecurities. A lot of people can feel odd/uncomfortable and dislike their growth spurts, which is why Donnie's issues at first might seem like normal things for a teenager to worry about. Donnie's biggest issue would've been how scrawny and lanky he saw himself.

But when they meet April, there is a glaring difference.

Suddenly, there is somebody in his life who isn't a mutant like him. It becomes abundantly clear to Donnie that from somebody else's standpoint, their biggest issue with him wouldn't be his tooth gap or his height, but just the plain fact that he's so different. Inhuman. Out of the ordinary. A mutant.

When he's rambling to Timothy (Mutagen Man at this point) about why April might be on a date with some punk kid (Casey) the conclusion he resorts to is, 'Because he's human, that's why.'

At the end of the episode A Foot Too Big, when Donnie apologises to April, he says, 'I'm just... a mutant.' Again, this shows Donnie jumps to the conclusion that this is why April doesn't want to be with him, not his overbearing nature or the fact that she just genuinely might not be interested. The problem in Donnie's mind is that he's mutated.

The fact that Donnie used the word 'just' implies that being a mutant is all that Donnie has boiled himself down to. He thinks that his other traits aren't worthwhile or good - like him being funny, smart, inventive - because he thinks that nobody would pay attention to him. At the end of the day, he thinks nobody will be able to see him outside of being a monster.

In Fungus Humungous, the hallucination of April that Donnie experiences calls him an 'ugly mutant freak'. It is unlikely April actually thinks this of Donnie, but it's what Donnie thinks she does because it's his biggest fear. I'd like to split Donnie's hallucination into two parts. April insulting Donnie about being a mutant, and Donnie's hallucination of April kissing Casey.

We see April kissing Casey. I think the fact that this part of the hallucination comes second is meant to represent that this fear of rejection and not being able to find love is two sides of the same coin. His fear of April choosing Casey is a by-product of his main insecurity. We are shown April calling Donnie an 'ugly mutant freak' first. Donnie isn't afraid of rejection in itself.

In the first half of the hallucination, it shows that April uses a sharp tongue like a whip.

This tongue is shown to go through Donnie's heart and subsequently breaks it.

"To have a sharp tongue" means to be quick to criticize, speak harshly, or make cutting remarks; essentially, someone who is often unkind or sarcastic with their words.

I think this represents that, over anything, it is April's words that break his heart more than her actions. It is her disgust at him being a mutant that shatters him. It's what makes him crack in the episode. He starts screaming, runs away, and shouts that he, 'doesn't want to hear anymore.' This is Donnie's breaking point. Her sharp tongue and words, over her actions like kissing Casey, that is Donnie's true biggest fear.

Donnie doesn't want to be with April purely because he loves her. To Donnie, it would be more than April simply making a choice on who to partner up with. It would be confirmation for Donnie that the issue all along was because he's a mutant.

The point I'm trying to make is that Donnie is obsessed with trying to improve his own self-image than actually liking April.

He wants to use April as a means to prove someone could love him despite appearances because, as I said earlier, looks are important to a lot of people. Gaining a romantic partner would most likely grant Donnie the confidence, the consolidation that he 'isn't ugly after all' because he managed to gain a partner. That is why he so desperately chases after April.

He chases after the feeling of confidence.

His character kills me.

Jhfsstjhfjhs you're welcome!!! I actually really like the thin lines, I think it gives it a sort of soft flowy look that I think is pretty hard to accomplish with thicker lines

I actually have the exact opposite problem tbh, I've been favoring thicker lines in my art, but when I try to use thinner lines, I can't capture the flowing weightless detail like I want too

(tbh I think the coloring of the lineart might aid in that so next time I line that might be something I try hehegeg,,)

Something about your artstyle is so beautiful and satisfying to look at I'm literally addicted to it,,

Aww !! Thank you so much !! I try my best, honestly- 😭👍✨

I've said this on my other platforms as well, but sometimes I feel really bad for using such thin lines all the time,, I just worry that it makes my art kind of hard to see or hard to make out clearly-? And then I'll try doing thick lines instead (But it's obvious I'll erase it in places to make it look appealing to me- The best examples of this that I've already posted are my 2012 Mikey and Leo collages as well as my Vampiric 2012 Jonatello post !), but that's never as appealing to me ( + it's more time consuming to do that-) as the thin lines are so I often feel conflicted,, 😭

But it does make me feel good to know that you think it looks satisfying ! I hope to improve and make even better fan art for this franchise ! 🫶✨

The person I reblogged this from deserves happiness and love

Thank you for helping me add to my ever-growing collection 👍

:p

OH WE SHARING DONNIE PICS??? COUNT ME IN!!

And then a lil’ Comic Donnie because Comic Donnie is a blessing that we will always have but will never truly deserve:

And then Google Photos got a little confused, but tiny Donnie and Leo behind a laptop were listed under “Donnie” so wygd?

Also can we have a serious conversation about how many times being a tech guy has almost got him shot..? No? Hm.

T-pods.

I'm not sad, I promise! Sometimes I just draw sad things, yeah :D

I just wanted to draw Ice Cream Kitty and… well, my brain didn't think of anything else. I like to imagine this happened right after losing Splinter.

And I'm very tempted to draw the other kids.

💚 Send this to the twelve nicest people you know or who seem to have a good heart, and if you get five back you must be pretty awesome 💚

HI HEWWO!!!!!! I see asks are working for you now!! DHGjgdfkhz

I'm only sending this out to my moots bc I don't think I even know 12 people lmao

Putting all my AU Donnies in a room and seeing which one comes out alive

more than anything on earth fatphobic thin people love pretending their disgust with feedism is some kind of moral fight on our behalf to protect us poor fatties from something terrible like being seen as hot and attractive because of our weight rather than in spite of it

2012 Oroku Saki ("The Shredder") Analysis / Also kind of Hamato Yoshi ("Master Splinter") too, but mainly Saki- Lmao

I still intend on doing some art related to 2012 Shredder (Especially in the context of a Redemption Arc and him being the Uncle he should've been in Karai + the Turtles lives- 😔🫶), but I have so much to say outside of art that I thought I'd talk about him too !

Just like all my overanalyzing with 2012, I completely understand and respect the opinion that all of these points I make could be the result of poor writing + a contradicting narrative, and that there wasn't meant to be some deeper meaning to it necessarily. I just enjoy that not being the case- Lmao 👍

Oroku Saki is a complex character / villain, and that's something the writers completely squander for the sake of having a "simple and reliable" villain.

Just as the header of this portion says, the writers of 2012 completely dismiss the complexity of Saki as character and miss many opportunities to highlight how Saki isn't a "black and white" type of antagonist whatsoever. I'm not entirely sure if they had intended for Shredder to fall into such a grey area as a villain-? Which could absolutely explain why they decided not to explore his character in this way. But whether they meant to or not, that doesn't really matter to me, since I'm still going to talk about it- LMAO

I feel 2012 wanted us as the audience to think, "Shredder = Evil" and simply not read into it after that, you know? Which, if that truly was their "goal" (so to speak), they never should've given us backstory episodes like, "Tale of the Yokai" since that not only puts more focus on Shredder's motives as the main villain but also sort of has the opposite effect on people like me (lmao)-

A lot of the major events that affected Saki's life either don't get utilized very well in Saki's overall character / character writing, things that I feel would make him very "relatable" villain to the audience (In the sense that if you were in his shoes, you could understand how he got to this point in his life-), or they're used to push this "evil guy" narrative despite him being very blatantly a victim of said event in my eyes-?? Which is why I say the writers wanted him to be this "simple" and "reliable" villain for their story. This feels a lot more glaring towards the later Seasons of 2012 for me, and how despite this man very clearly being mentally ill, it felt as though the writers would rather paint that mental illness as "he's just evil". It felt especially frustrating during S4 episodes like, "The Super Shredder" (EP 20) where we see Saki trail off while saying, "He saw it..." (Referring to Tang Shen's death and him still believing it was Splinter's doing and not his own-). In this same episode, we also get Splinter acknowledging the fact that Saki isn't well and that he can help him (Which, given this show, was more likely meant as a stall tactic from Splinter but I'd like to believe he was being genuine-), as well as Saki (In his own way, I guess-) opening up to Splinter about seeing his scornful face in his nightmares,, These could have been great segways into having this kind of conversation with Saki's character in 2012, even if it was this late into the series, but of course that didn't happen because we can never have nice things with this version. 😭 /hj

Let's get into more of my analysis now !

The portrayal of Oroku Saki's life in the 2012 series:

Throughout Season 1, the most we know about Saki is his role / connection to Yoshi, which primarily revolved around the death of his wife Tang Shen and the (presumed) loss of his only daughter Miwa. In most cases where Yoshi would bring up Saki during this time, he would only focus on those particular details and nothing that really pertained to Saki's past outside of his wife and daughter. He also refers to Saki as his "old friend" rather than his (adoptive) Brother- But I don't necessarily fault the show for doing this, because I feel like that definitely would have been a lot of information very early on the story. It wasn't until the Season 1 finale that Yoshi not only learned that his daughter Miwa was alive, but also that she had been raised by Saki all this time under the name Karai instead.

During Season 2 is when Yoshi opens up a lot more about Saki and his connections to him and their past. In S2 EP 3, "Follow the Leader", Splinter finally reveals to Leo what he learned at the end of Season 1 (That Karai is his long lost daughter and that Saki took her from him all those years ago-), something that he didn't reveal to the rest of his sons for another 10 episodes ( EP 13-14, "The Manhattan Project (Parts 1 & 2) / Wormquake!"-). Then eight episodes after that, during EP 22, "Vengeance is Mine", Splinter divulges way more information than we (as the audience) have ever been given about Saki / "Shredder" during his conversation with Karai. In this episode, we learned that the Hamato Clan and Foot Clan have I've been through a centuries long feud with one another, and that Saki was adopted into the Hamato Clan as a byproduct of that feud. From that point on, him and Saki were raised alongside one another as brothers. However, when Tang Shen came into the picture, things changed between them. According to Splinter, their natural sibling rivalry festered into jealousy for Saki, and this jealousy was amplified after Saki learned of his true origins and decided to rebuild the Foot Clan and get vengeance. Splinter also claimed that after blaming him for Tang Shen's death, Saki deliberately burned their home to the ground and took Miwa (Karai) away from him.

The last time we receive a lot of context from the series in relation to Saki's past is during Season 3, specifically EP 20, "Tale of the Yokai". This episode is very different because it allows the Turtles (As well as the audience-) to witness these events first hand rather than it being told through various backstories (Which have mainly been through Splinter up until this point-). This also canonically establishes that the Turtles had a lot to do with this incredibly pivotal event in Yoshi / Saki / Tang Shen / and Miwa's lives, since they were apparently the reason why Yoshi even survived that night after their home burned down. But I digress- We get to see how Yoshi and Saki interacted with each other before the events of the series, we get to see Tang Shen alive and well for the first time (Instead of only pictures of her-), we witness Saki's dramatic change in character + when he decided he was going to rebuild the Foot Clan and get his vengeance on the Hamato Clan, and we get to see Yoshi's and Saki's altercation that resulted in Tang Shen's death. After this episode, we don't get any further context with Saki as a character, nor do we get any other important backstory elements revolving around him and his identity as The Shredder (Not even any proper flashbacks of him raising Karai and what that was like- 🫠).

Now, I was very purposefully trying to point out how that was Yoshi / Splinter's perspective when I said things like, "according to Splinter" and "Splinter claims" during his recollection to Karai in Season 2- Because in my opinion, a lot what he says here feels blatantly contradicted by, "Tale of the Yokai". I also explained the events of said episode very vaguely because in my opinion, this is how 2012 presents it. These events weren't necessarily "meant" to be dissected, especially not by our main cast of characters, the Turtles and their allies (But specifically the Turtles, given they were the only ones present for these events specifically-).

So let's break down, "Tale of the Yokai", and the various contradictions that I can see when it comes to what actually happens in this episode (As well as Saki's origins-) and the way it's recalled by Splinter in the previous Season to Karai.

Comparing "Tale of The Yokai" to Splinter's recollections throughout 2012:

• Yoshi and Saki's relationship

This is something that I don't feel was necessarily a contradiction from Yoshi's perspective. He describes them growing up alongside one another and being relatively close (Which I feel these story board flashbacks depict that better than his words do-), and to an extent, I feel like this is something Saki can agree with. Prior to Tang Shen coming into both their lives (But particularly Saki's-), it seems as though Yoshi was the only person Saki talked to more openly / freely in his life (In the sense that rank or position within the clan didn't affect their conversations. I feel like this is reflected in a lot of Saki's conversations with his allies, pre and post the events of the series-).

We can even see this potential closeness through pictures of them from the past (Specifically the image on the left, which implies that him and Yoshi served in the military together at some point-). However, where this feels contradicted during TOTY is during Yoshi's and Saki's argument while sparring after Saki protects Tang Shen from the Turtles in the woods. Saki openly calls out Splinter's devotion to the Clan, potentially to himself, and how that affects his relationship with Tang Shen. Yoshi's response to this is that that isn't true and that he's "always been there for him (Saki)". This moment is so interesting to me, for multiple reasons. First off, Saki primarily was making Tang Shen the focus of this argument, but somehow Yoshi manages to pivot the conversation it being about Saki and their relationship as Brothers. Almost like Yoshi caught on to some kind of underlying tone from Saki. Secondly, I really truly love the sincerity that comes out of Yoshi when he tells Saki he's always been there for him. Because it truly adds a lot of complexity to their relationship, as well as a lot of relationships that revolve around Yoshi / Splinter (Something I'll get into later-). Despite this sincerity though, we can tell from Saki's reaction that he disagrees with this and believes it's untrue. Which paints an entirely different picture when looking at these story boards flashbacks + the old photo of them when serving in the military. In this way, I feel like they can truly be compared to Raph and Leo. Sure, you can find a lot of moments where Raph is on good terms with Leo and laughing alongside him, but there are also a lot moments where Raph blatantly accuses Leo of not supporting him the way he supports others (Usually their Brothers-) and feeling looked down upon by Leo with his condescending / high and mighty attitude. It wouldn't be far fetched to me to believe that Yoshi and Saki had a very similar dynamic growing up. Where Saki wanted to be close with Yoshi and wanted to let him in more, but one wrong sentence or action from him would close him up again. This also could've been a glaring reminder to Saki of how different they truly are / how they were perceived by others. That Saki was always the "problem child" or the Foot Clan adoptee while Splinter was the son of the head of the Hamato Clan / destined to takeover and was a role model for their fellow ninja. This reminder would always get in the way of their relationship for Saki, since it directly affected him. Negatively. This affected Yoshi too, but more positively, which would naturally cause it to go unnoticed or dismissed by him.

There's another line from TOTY that was incredibly interesting to me, and I don't see a lot of people talking about it when discussing not only this episode but Saki and Yoshi's relationship with each other. Before those two have their pivotal fight that results in Tang Shen's death, after she leaves the premises is when Saki says something that is very interesting to me. He says, "How can one love and hate someone so fiercely?", and then he proceeds to get into his fighting stance. I can't help but feel like he was blatantly talking about Yoshi in this moment. Some could argue that he was talking about Tang Shen, since it could be possible that his view of her was shifting after she made her decision to choose Yoshi over him- But I personally don't agree (I don't think Tang Shen's passing would've affected him so deeply if that was the case- I don't even fully believe Saki could even view Tang Shen with any malice either-). This feels supported by the fact that Yoshi even responds to Saki afterwards, saying, "If your wish is to fall by my hand, Brother, then so be it-". This is another instance that I feel can be used to reflect not only Saki's relationship with Yoshi, but a reoccurring issue with Yoshi. The fact that Yoshi barely even acknowledges what Saki said here speaks to his character to me. Saki has so openly stated how he loves his brother just as much as he's grown to hate him, and yet, Yoshi doesn't even bat an eye at this. I already have the impression that Saki so rarely expresses any kind of love for anyone (Familial, platonic, or romantic-), so this naturally can be assumed to be a rare moment from him. I doubt Saki has said this to Yoshi very often, if at all. But still, there's a lack of reaction from Yoshi.

This could be explained by the situation, considering that things were very tense in that moment and of course this led to their massive fight. Maybe Yoshi it was preoccupied bracing himself for the events to come that it just slipped his mind. But this falls in line with what I was saying earlier about Yoshi / Splinter having this reoccurring behavior(s) when in comes to those he loves and cherishes in his life and how he reacts to them and their perspectives (More on this later-).

• Saki and Tang Shen's relationship

This is one of the big things Splinter sheds light on throughout the series (Specifically S1-S2) that I personally feel was very contradicted by TOTY.

For starters, from Splinter's point of view (Or narration-), he implies that him and Saki both met and fell in love with Tang Shen at relatively the same point in time. But I don't believe this to be true for a few reasons. For starters, when we see Saki and Tang Shen interact after Saki "saved her" from the Turtles, it's incredibly obvious given their conversation that they've been in a relationship before. Saki even starts the conversation of their relationship by pleading with Tang Shen to "take him back". He talks about how he's changed and grown a lot since they've been apart, which also implies that he most likely was the reason why their relationship ended or why Tang Shen made the difficult decision (probably) to end their relationship. My other reason for thinking that this isn't true is that throughout the various times that Splinter has brought up their rivalry for Tang Shen's heart, he's never once mentioned the fact that Saki was in a relationship with Tang Shen before he was. Splinter always painted this picture as though they were competing for her at the same time and that he ultimately "won" and Tang Shen stayed with him indefinitely- Which just seems blatantly false given this conversation that we see between Tang Shen and Saki in TOTY.

This leads me to believe that Saki actually met Tang Shen first. A significant amount of time before Yoshi even knew of her existence. I also wouldn't be surprised if their relationship either took place discreetly or Yoshi never truly acknowledged it in the first place. I can see Tang Shen's relationship with Saki happening privately given Saki's lack of having relatively anything to himself. His clan was taken from him when he was an infant, he was raised by the Hamato Clan without having any say in that decision either, Yoshi gained the favoritism with their Father and practically the entire clan simply for being Hamato Uta's biological son and heir to the Clan- Saki has nothing that has truly been his own at this point. So it would make sense for him to want to cherish his relationship with Tang Shen in private so that that too cannot be something that is taken from him by the Hamato Clan. Which is incredibly sad and ironic considering that that practically is what happens anyway (If this is the case-),, || However, looking at the other side of things where Saki didn't keep his relationship with Tang Shen a secret and instead was very open about their relationship, I wouldn't be surprised Yoshi didn't even acknowledge it at the time. Perhaps he didn't even truly meet Tang Shen until after their relationship had already fallen out. Hence this perspective of those two competing for Tang Shen during the same timeframe. Yoshi as a new potential partner and Saki as an ex looking for redemption and reconciliation. But that begs the question- Why would Yoshi / Splinter omit the fact that Saki had a relationship with Tang Shen prior to himself? Was it because of their scarred relationship in the present? And due to his pride, Splinter chose not to bring it up? Or does this circle back to Yoshi / Splinter's relationships with others and this proving Saki's point about Yoshi being self centered or only truly recalling information that pertains to his view point?

Regardless though, this is a huge contradiction from what Splinter had explained to Karai in Season 2 (Which made it seem as though Saki had no real relationship with Tang Shen whatsoever and was just jealous of Splinter's-), and regardless of whether that relationship was hidden or out in the open it doesn't change the fact that Tang Shen felt like another thing the Hamato Clan stole from him.

Something else that I love to talk about with Tang Shen and Saki is during her conversation with the Turtles in TOTY. The Turtles are doing their absolute best to convince Tang Shen that Saki is evil, Yoshi is good, and that her decision between Yoshi and Saki has world changing stakes. However, despite how the Turtles are talking about Saki and their potential standing with Tang Shen under the context of being Kappa (Something would reasonably sway any opinions Tang Shen has of him-), Tang Shen stands firmly in his defense. Claiming that Saki is a good man. I know we didn't get to know Tang Shen very well in this version, but from the little that we did get I have no reason to doubt that she has a good judge of character. I don't think Tang Shen was deceived by Saki or that she was in denial about him in the face of what the Turtles were telling her. I think Saki truly was a genuine person up until this point in the narrative. A genuine person who was pushed to the edge and never managed to recover,,

There's also the fact that Saki told Tang Shen that he was willing to give up the Clan lifestyle and move to New York City like she wanted to. To leave all of this behind if she would allow him to be a part of her life once again. Maybe this is just my perspective, but I don't believe Saki was being manipulative or deceitful when he said these things to her. I think he really was being honest and genuine in that moment. And not that this was Tang Shen's fault nor was it her responsibility, but I wouldn't be surprised if Tang Shen choosing Saki could have prevented such a tragedy,, Prevented Saki from becoming the Shredder and devoting his life to rebuilding the Foot Clan and gaining vengeance against the Hamato Clan.

The Turtles expressed concern and carried a sense of urgency throughout TOTY due to their friends (Casey and April-) seemingly vanishing from their lives via a photograph, presuming that this meant their timeline was altering for the worse at the notion of Tang Shen choosing Saki over Yoshi. But at the end of the day, all that was was a presumption. They didn't know for sure that that necessarily meant they were falling into a "doomed timeline" (So to speak-). If anything, I'd argue that this timeline would just make their existence null and void. If Tang Shen didn't choose Yoshi, then Yoshi and Saki wouldn't have lost her. Yoshi wouldn't have fled to New York City in his grief (And most likely longing to be close to her again in some capacity, since it was the one thing she said she wanted to do before she passed-), he wouldn't have run into the Kraang, and the Turtles wouldn't have been born. Instead, Yoshi would have most likely stayed in Japan and fulfilled his role as the new head of the Hamato Clan, while Tang Shen / Saki / and Miwa (Karai) made a new life for themselves in New York City. Leaving that chapter of their lives behind for good. If Tang Shen hadn't died by Saki's hand (unintentionally), if Saki hadn't been pushed to the edge by this entire situation, then he wouldn't have become the Shredder in the first place. He wouldn't have become so mentally ill that he literally started destroying himself. Just to get some validation for his pain and suffering,,

• Saki's Origins

Comparing the recollection that Splinter shared Karai in Season 2 to the events of TOTY shows that a lot of things seem to be omitted from the narrative by Splinter. However, I'm not entirely sure if this was done intentionally by Splinter, since I wouldn't be surprised if he wasn't privy to the entire story in the same way that Saki wasn't and had to seek out said information on his own. So this potentially isn't a case of Splinter lying or hiding things, but rather him just genuinely not knowing.

From Splinter's knowledge, the Hamato Clan and the Foot Clan have had a centuries long feud between them. I personally feel the obvious implication here is that the Hamato Clan ("The Good") has been in an everlasting battle with the Foot Clan ("The Bad / Evil"), given house Splinter talks about it anyway. But-?? We don't have a lot of context on this centuries long feud to begin with. We have no idea how it started, no idea whether the Foot Clan has consistently been in the wrong in said feud either. I personally think it would be more reasonable to believe that the "bad / evil" one has been passed from side to side over the centuries. It also wouldn't surprise me if this were a situation where the feud has lasted so long that neither side can truly remember why it even began in the first place. Once again begging the question of whether or not there was ever actually truly any wrong or evil side to begin with.

There's also been many situations of morally gray "justice", where despite one group of people claiming to be good people and their actions typically reflecting that, that doesn't exempt them from doing things that sort of teeter the line of their supposed morals. I feel like this can be reflected in the Hamato Clan very clearly, to be honest. Splinter always preaches about mercy, how "in times of war to never forget compassion" (A quote from him in, "Never Say Xever"-). I truly believe that this is a value that Splinter holds, especially after the horrors he experienced with Tang Shen and the loss of his daughter. I don't believe that Splinter ever seeks death, which also felt reflected in the way he handled the situation with Saki throughout the series. However, I cannot say the same for their Father, Hamato Uta. We see from the storyboard flashbacks that they quite literally took out the entire Foot Clan, which doesn't really align with Splinter's values about showing mercy and sparing others. How can you claim to be on the right side of the situation if you're so willing to take out an entire group of people? We as the audience have no context or insight on the Foot Clan during this specific time either, so how are we to trust so blindly that they "deserved this" or that "there was no other option for them"? It's also made incredibly clear that they only spared Saki given he was an infant child, but I wouldn't be surprised if his heritage also played a part in the decision. Since we wouldn't find out until TOTY that Saki's Father was Oroku Keiji, the Head of the Foot Clan during that time (Not that that couldn't be reasonably inferred before this point, but I still wanted to bring it up timeline wise-).

This most definitely influenced a lot of his relationships and interactions within the Hamato Clan, I'm sure. Like I said in my doodle post of Saki and Tang Shen a while back, I genuinely would not be surprised if he was given "Naruto Uzumaki treatment" by most people in the Clan. But instead of not allowing that to break him and taking it on the chin the way Naruto did, he responded the opposite way which feels just as valid to me. Lmao

When Saki makes this revelation during TOTY to his supporters, they express surprise and shock at this information. Which leads me to assume that Yoshi didn't know about this at all, if other (ninja) members of the Hamato Clan didn't. I wouldn't be surprised if their Father purposely kept this information from them. I mean, why else would Saki have to seek it out on his own? His anger feels valid in this moment, I gotta to be honest. It also doesn't hold up to me that they kept this from Saki as a means of "preventing him from going down that path", since why would having that knowledge sway him a particular way? Unless Uta couldn't justify it. Unless he couldn't reasonably explain the situation. Maybe there wasn't a valid reason for the tragedy and they both knew that.

It starts to make sense why Saki is so angry at this point in the story. To be taken from his family / Clan as a infant, raised by his enemy in ignorance (A claim Saki directly makes in TOTY-), to have everything be taken from him by this enemy (Which includes Tang Shen at this point-), and for Saki to feel as though everything he did technically have came with metaphorical strings attached ("Not to bite the hand that feeds you despite you never asking for that hand specifically to feed you" type of situation-). This is why I claim that he's a relatable villain, because if you were in his shoes, you probably would be just as infuriated as he was. As pushed to the limit as he was. So the cause and effect we are taking place with Saki during TOTY truly isn't "coming from nowhere" in my eyes.

I also really appreciated the way Mikey was the only Brother out of the Turtles that even entertained the idea that Saki wasn't necessarily the guy they thought he was or that they've grown to know in the present. As always, he was shut down immediately by everyone else (🙄), but was he really wrong for that statement?? Which is kind of a rhetorical question, since 2012 Mikey's right about a lot of things very often in this series and that constantly goes overlooked and underappreciated. I'm getting a little off topic with this, but I would have really loved to see Mikey interact with Saki in some way in this episode, since he already has the kind of personality that likes to understand both sides before making any strong judgments. It would have been really interesting to see Mikey be a "devil's advocate" of sorts after getting to know Saki a little bit better. Maybe even agreeing with Tang Shen later on when she claims that Saki isn't an evil person. This also goes hand in hand with my want for Saki to have a Redemption Arc in the main storyline, and how I absolutely believe Mikey would be the most open this new relationship and dynamic of the Turtles at first. With Mikey coming from a place of sincerity towards Saki, you know? 😭

I'm going to have to do a Part 2, since I can't add any more images to this post ! ✨