OOC - Application for PolyChromatic
[nick / name]: Heather
[personal LJ name]: imperateur
[other characters currently played]:
Thomas Raith || The Dresden Files || harrysbackup
Brennan Mulwray || Mutant X || theshockvalue
[e-mail]: imperatis@gmail.com
[AIM / messenger]: geeksqueetiem
[series]: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Movie-Verse)
[character]: Raphael
[character history / background]:
Yay for Wikis
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Secret of the Ooze
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: Turtles in Time
Judging from the advancement in technology, TMNT, the forth movie in the TMNT movie-verse takes place around the time that the movie was made, which was 2007. There are flat-screen TVs and advanced GPS locators, which hint at it being post 2000 at least. This would set the turtles ahead several years, and put them in their early 20s. The film opens after the fall of Shredder, giving a summary of the events and pushing the storyline forward a few years, lending more credibility to the turtles having matured more than a bit.
The film opens 3,000 years before the early twenty-first century, during which time a powerful warlord named Yaotl and his four generals discover a portal opening onto a parallel universe wherein is said to be a great power. Upon opening the portal, the warlord is exposed to this power and made immortal by the contact, but his four generals are turned to stone and his army obliterated. The portal additionally releases 13 immortal monsters that wreak havoc upon the world.
The film then cuts to the twenty-first century, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have grown apart. After the defeat and demise of the Shredder, Master Splinter has sent Leonardo away to Central America for training. The rest of the Turtles have settled into lives in New York:
* Donatello works as an IT specialist and has become the de facto leader
* Michelangelo works as a mascot called "Cowabunga Carl" for birthday parties, and
* Raphael continues fighting crime at night while disguised as the vigilante "Nightwatcher".
April O'Neil, seemingly expanded from her antique store "2nd Time Around", now operates a company that locates rare relics and acquires them for collectors with the help of her roommate and boyfriend Casey Jones.
While on a business trip in Central America, April meets Leonardo, whom she advises to return to New York, but he is hesitant to do so out of fear that he has not completed his training. April then tells him how the other Turtles have drifted apart and leaves Leo to ponder his next move. April returns to New York with a stone statue for her client Max Winters, the wealthy CEO of a financial empire. Leo stows away on board a plane and returns shortly afterwards. April and Casey deliver the statue to Winters at his corporate office, after they leave he brings all four statues out and reanimates them, revealing that the statues are the four Generals of the myth, and Winters is Yaotl himself. Winters is then visited by Karai and the Foot Clan, whom he hires to scour the city searching for the 13 beasts, who will be drawn to New York for the Generals to capture before the reopening of the portal, scheduled to happen in days.
Leo returns to the sewer home of the Turtles, where he faces Splinter. Splinter, desiring him to reunite his brothers as a family, forbids the Turtles from fighting until they are a cohesive team again. While training, the Turtles encounter one of the thirteen beasts battling with the Foot Clan. Seeing the Foot losing the battle, the Turtles defy Leo and Splinter's orders and engage the beast as well. The beast easily defeats the Turtles; but before it can kill them the four Stone Generals arrive and capture the beast, spiriting it away in a disguised garbage truck. Leo and Raph quarrel, wherein after Raph leaves to go hunting alone. Later, as Nightwatcher, Raph encounters Casey, who reveals his knowledge of Raph's double identity and joins him in hunting criminals. Together they encounter the Stone Generals again, and are pursued by one until the police interrupt the fight. Raph is knocked unconscious by a dart fired by the Generals, whereupon Casey takes him to his apartment and calls the other Turtles to come and help. While examining Raph, they learn the identities of Winters and his Generals from April. After being revived, Raph leaves them, wishing to fight alone.
[character abilities]:
Since they learned to walk, the turtles have been trained in the art of ninjitsu. They are masters of stealth, have Olympic-level speed, agility, and stamina, and each specializes in a specific form of weapons fighting. Raphael specifically is stronger and taller than his brothers, lifting weights to relieve stress. As the Nightwatcher, he’s shown to use a classic ninjitu weapon comprised of a pair of chains connected to weights. These were not traditionally used offensively, but can crack a man’s skull if used with enough force.
As part of the ninja turtles, Raphael’s weapon of choice is a pair of sais. Also not traditionally used by ninja, they are also not commonly sharpened, but are used as defensive weapons designed to tangle up an opponent’s weapons in order to disarm them.
[character personality]:
Raphael is unique among his brothers in that they have always been satisfied to live in shadow, having limited interaction with the world of men. The concept has never sat well with Raphael, leaving him feeling as though their talents could be utilized to protect the people of New York City. As Master Splinter tells him in TMNT, he carries the weight of the world on his shoulders, trying to help whenever possible, regardless of consequence or personal danger. Master Splinter would have them stick to battling their own enemies and leaving humans to fend for themselves. Raphael sees this as a huge injustice to the people they are capable of helping, and often defies the wishes of both his Master and Father and that of his leader, Leonardo, and goes off on his own to do what he can.
In this, he has an ally in Casey Jones, who was a freelance vigilante himself before ever meeting Raphael or the rest of the turtles. Raph has a strong sense of justice and disregards conventional rules and practices to see that it is served. He was always at odds with his older brother, Leonardo, growing up, seeing him as the favored student and the favored son, a belief that was only strengthened when Master Splinter chose to send Leonardo off for individual training over the rest of them. Raph has always felt as though he was less valued in his father’s eyes, and turns those feelings of inadequacy on Leonardo most of the time. Rebellious and independent, Raphael resists most of Leonardo’s orders, usually openly defying them if the result in any hesitance, especially if it involves acting in a situation such as rushing so someone’s rescue.
He’s quick to anger when a situation calls for waiting, usually getting impatient to the point of running off on his own to do what he thinks needs to be done. This has lead to his capture and/or grievous injury on more than one occasion, but neither of these bother Raphael. To him, it beats sitting around doing nothing while the bad guys do whatever they want.
He has a soft spot for children, specifically those who show to understand the badness around them and show a desire to want to do something about it. Raphael almost instantly took a liking to Keno, a young pizza delivery boy whom they met shortly after defeating the Shredder for the first time, liking the kid’s spunk and drive. When the rest hesitated, Keno suggested he infiltrate the Foot to see what they were up to. Raph thought it was a great idea but Leonardo decided it was better to err on the side of caution. Raph and Keno snuck away, getting Keno initiated. Though it eventually lead to the returned Shredder capturing Raphael, in the end it proved very fortuitous to the mission, as Keno was able to lead them all right to the Shredder’s hide out.
Yoshi, a boy he met in futile Japan, stole Raphael’s heart with his passion. He started hanging out with the kid, getting the boy to teach him how to fly a kite and talking the kid into focusing on being a child rather than a member of the revolution. This relationship also proved useful for the turtles as Yoshi have Raphael the scepter that would return them to their own time. They’d been searching for it, and Yoshi had had it the entire time, having found it in the woods near where Michelangelo was found.
Raphael is proven to mood swings ranging from rage both in battle and frustration caused by his brothers, sullen funks where he goes off by himself to sulk, and goofball moments, usually with Mikey. Of his brothers, he is closest to Michelangelo, feelings a deep companionship with his youngest brother. He is fiercely protective of Mikey, and will put himself in mortal peril to protect the youngest turtle in battle. More than anything, Michelangelo appeals to the boy in Raphael, allowing him to come out of his sullen shell and just have a good time. Raph understands that Mikey looks up to him as a role model, and does his best to be what Mikey should see. Leonardo may not agree with his brash demeanor and impulsiveness, but Mikey seems to love it, and that’s enough for Raph.
Donatello is the brains of the outfit, literally, and Raph treats him as such. Donny usually remains silent unless provoked, but Raphael tends to bring that provocation out of him. Raph responds to Don with threats but no actual action. He feels his brother is a huge nerd, but loves him regardless, and bows to Don’s superior intellect in most things. Rarely does Raphael stick around to see Don solve the problem, though, having already grown impatient with the waiting and leaving. Raphael loves Donatello as much as he loves any of his brothers, but he isn’t particularly close to him.
Raphael’s relationship with Leonardo can be described as tectonic at best. The two eldest brothers have always been at odds. Raphael feels that Leonardo has always been the favored son, as well as the favored student. He reflects all this frustration on his older brother, rebelling against his orders and shooting down his plans at every possible turn. His feelings towards Leonardo seem to border of sheer hatred at times, but this is a misnomer. While it is a deep-seated resentment caused by Splinter’s perceived favoritism, Raphael loves Leonardo very strongly, and is often the first to act when his older brother is threatened. When the Shredder held Leonardo as hostage, Raphael was the first to throw down his weapons at the Shredder’s order, his love of his eldest brother burning away any feelings of resentment he may harbor for him. More than anything, Raphael perceives he and Leonardo to be in a constant rivalry for Splinter’s affection and approval, which is also a cause for his rebellious nature where Leo is concerned.
Master Splinter is Raphael’s mentor and father figure. Raph looks up to him in all things, and though he often questions the teachings of his sensei, Raphael takes comfort and companionship in his Master’s words. Raphael is often quickly over-run by feelings of loneliness and isolation, but Splinter is just as quick to shoot them down, reminding him that he is not alone in his isolation, that he is loved and valued. Raph is fiercely loyal to his family, and is overcome with rage when any of them are threatened. He would sooner die than betray any one of them.
Casey Jones and April O’Neal are two very important facets in Raphael’s life. Casey, though he and Raph started out on the wrong foot, as become one of Raph’s closest friends. Raph confides in him when he can’t turn to anyone else, and is generally in a good humor with Casey. As the Nightwatcher, it was Casey who was able to figure out it was really Raphael in disguise. It then became a running joke as to who was who’s sidekick. Casey does his best to get Raphael to see reason when he’s angry, and sometimes it actually works. In short, Raph value’s Casey’s opinion very closely, and he’s one of Raph’s closest friends. April serves as one of Raphael’s only connections to the outside world. She was the first human he ever really interacted with, saving her from a Foot ambush and bringing her home. She quickly became a facet in all their lives, bringing them things she’d purchased for them at flea markets, and giving them a place to stay after the Foot learned the location of their home. To Raph, she’s like a big sister, a part of his family, and he would defend her with the same ferocity as he would any of his brothers.
Raphael does have a sense of humor, though it isn’t the fun-loving, carefree humor of his brothers. He’s set apart from them with his snide, sarcastic tongue that he uses both to poke fun at the others, at all of them, or to goad bad guys into attacking. He’s impulsive, impatient, and gets annoyed very quickly when there’s too much talking and not enough action. Raphael has his own brand of justice, and it rarely jives with the status-quo. He strongly feels that, regardless of their appearance and genetic makeup, they shouldn’t have to hide from a world they’ve saved many times over, and is strongly resentful of the same world he wants to protect, knowing they’d hate them no matter how much they’ve done to help.
[point in timeline you're picking your character from]: Just after Raphael leaves the group at April’s apartment after being drugged by the Generals.
[journal post]:
[Audio]
[The rhythmic turning of the Carousel can be heard in the background. The voice that speaks is deep, harsh, and laced with a Bronx accent.]
Alright. I’ve been around this place twice. Don’t know if you’re the Foot or the Purple Dragons or somebody else completely, but you got two seconds to answer: What’d you chumps do with New York?
[third person / log sample]:
He was out the window and deftly climbing the fire-escapes to the roof in two seconds. Leo always thought his word was gospel. “Splinter said we’re not supposed to fight if we’re not fighting as one, Raph,” he said, his tone mocking. Suck up. Kiss ass. Leonardo, the golden boy. Daddy’s little perfect son. Raph scoffed, disgust causing a metallic tang on the back of his tongue. Leo’s gone for two years, abandoning all of them, then shows back up out of the blue and expects them to all fall in line like good little sheep? Well, screw that, Raph thought as he vaulted the edge of the roof.
“Showin’ back up like everything’s just supposed to be the same.” He voice was an angry growl. Leo had left them high and dry. Left to fend for themselves, they fell apart. No, he thought angrily. That wasn’t their fault. It wasn’t because they needed Leo, it was because Master Splinter thought they needed a leader, someone to make their unit one. He’d forbidden them from going out, from fighting the good fight, until Leonardo returned from his training and made them a cohesive whole. Didn’t he hear the cries at night, filtering down from above through drains, people being hurt, being robbed. Didn’t he care? How could he not? Sure their skin wasn’t green. Sure, they didn’t have shells, or fur, or whatever, but they were people. People that needed help. Help they could give. Didn’t Father get that? He’d forbidden them from interfering in the world of men, telling them to leave man’s problem to man. That didn’t fly with Raphael.
They were all part of the same city, the same world. Someone screaming for help didn’t have a color, a race, a species even. They were just people in trouble. If that meant he had to put on a suit and wear a mask to help, then he’d be New York’s Batman. There were people out there that needed a hero, and it looked like Raph was the only one who wanted to step up to the plate.
Leo wanted to brown nose Master Splinter some more. Master Splinter wanted to keep them away from the city they’d been born in, raised underneath. Funny, he thought as he opened his stash, pulling out a leather jumpsuit and matching helmet. When it was the Shredder and the Foot who were threatening New York, Master Splinter was all about fighting back. Throw normal crooks at people, and he couldn’t care less. Maybe it was because his Master had a history with the Shredder. He shook his head. If that was what stilled his father’s hand, that was just screwed up. People needed them!
"And Don," he scoffed again. "Always at that damned computer, picking on me for sleepin' all day." He shook his head as he pulled the zipper up on the Nightwatcher suit. "Least I'm doin' somethin'." What was Don doing? Helping little old ladies figure out how to plug in their routers while women were getting mugged on the streets of Harlem. "Yeah. Way to serve the cause, Donnie."
At least Mikey’s heart was in the right place, he thought. He’d heard Mike watching news about the Nightwatcher’s escapades, getting all excited and reliving their glory days. He couldn’t help but smile thinking about his youngest brother. Mikey always bordered on innocent and naive, and Raph had always felt a need to protect his little brother from the harsh realities of the world. Sure, Mike thought the Nightwatcher was great, and that what he was doing was good and worthwhile, but Raph wasn’t certain Mike knew the ramifications of the Nightwatcher’s actions, and he sure as hell didn’t want him to get it. Mike was a case in point. He was good, happy, and innocent. Above all else, those things should be protected.
He heaved a sigh as he settled the Nightwatcher helmet atop his head. Mikey was an idealist, Leo a kiss-up but a push-over. Don, as much as Raph wanted to throw animosity his way, was only doing what he thought was best, not to mention he was pulling in cash, which was keeping food on the table. Couldn’t complain about that. The Nightwatcher may do what needed to be done, but it didn’t exactly pay well…or at all really. He looked down for a moment. More than anything, what his family had been reduced to saddened him. In the old days, they would go out, kick some ninja butt, and then come home, have a pizza, and watch Don and Mikey play video games all night. What had become of their family? Their brotherhood? Had they destroyed everything? He didn’t have an answer, and that was the saddest thought of all.
[personal LJ name]: imperateur
[other characters currently played]:
Thomas Raith || The Dresden Files || harrysbackup
Brennan Mulwray || Mutant X || theshockvalue
[e-mail]: imperatis@gmail.com
[AIM / messenger]: geeksqueetiem
[series]: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Movie-Verse)
[character]: Raphael
[character history / background]:
Yay for Wikis
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Secret of the Ooze
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: Turtles in Time
Judging from the advancement in technology, TMNT, the forth movie in the TMNT movie-verse takes place around the time that the movie was made, which was 2007. There are flat-screen TVs and advanced GPS locators, which hint at it being post 2000 at least. This would set the turtles ahead several years, and put them in their early 20s. The film opens after the fall of Shredder, giving a summary of the events and pushing the storyline forward a few years, lending more credibility to the turtles having matured more than a bit.
The film opens 3,000 years before the early twenty-first century, during which time a powerful warlord named Yaotl and his four generals discover a portal opening onto a parallel universe wherein is said to be a great power. Upon opening the portal, the warlord is exposed to this power and made immortal by the contact, but his four generals are turned to stone and his army obliterated. The portal additionally releases 13 immortal monsters that wreak havoc upon the world.
The film then cuts to the twenty-first century, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have grown apart. After the defeat and demise of the Shredder, Master Splinter has sent Leonardo away to Central America for training. The rest of the Turtles have settled into lives in New York:
* Donatello works as an IT specialist and has become the de facto leader
* Michelangelo works as a mascot called "Cowabunga Carl" for birthday parties, and
* Raphael continues fighting crime at night while disguised as the vigilante "Nightwatcher".
April O'Neil, seemingly expanded from her antique store "2nd Time Around", now operates a company that locates rare relics and acquires them for collectors with the help of her roommate and boyfriend Casey Jones.
While on a business trip in Central America, April meets Leonardo, whom she advises to return to New York, but he is hesitant to do so out of fear that he has not completed his training. April then tells him how the other Turtles have drifted apart and leaves Leo to ponder his next move. April returns to New York with a stone statue for her client Max Winters, the wealthy CEO of a financial empire. Leo stows away on board a plane and returns shortly afterwards. April and Casey deliver the statue to Winters at his corporate office, after they leave he brings all four statues out and reanimates them, revealing that the statues are the four Generals of the myth, and Winters is Yaotl himself. Winters is then visited by Karai and the Foot Clan, whom he hires to scour the city searching for the 13 beasts, who will be drawn to New York for the Generals to capture before the reopening of the portal, scheduled to happen in days.
Leo returns to the sewer home of the Turtles, where he faces Splinter. Splinter, desiring him to reunite his brothers as a family, forbids the Turtles from fighting until they are a cohesive team again. While training, the Turtles encounter one of the thirteen beasts battling with the Foot Clan. Seeing the Foot losing the battle, the Turtles defy Leo and Splinter's orders and engage the beast as well. The beast easily defeats the Turtles; but before it can kill them the four Stone Generals arrive and capture the beast, spiriting it away in a disguised garbage truck. Leo and Raph quarrel, wherein after Raph leaves to go hunting alone. Later, as Nightwatcher, Raph encounters Casey, who reveals his knowledge of Raph's double identity and joins him in hunting criminals. Together they encounter the Stone Generals again, and are pursued by one until the police interrupt the fight. Raph is knocked unconscious by a dart fired by the Generals, whereupon Casey takes him to his apartment and calls the other Turtles to come and help. While examining Raph, they learn the identities of Winters and his Generals from April. After being revived, Raph leaves them, wishing to fight alone.
[character abilities]:
Since they learned to walk, the turtles have been trained in the art of ninjitsu. They are masters of stealth, have Olympic-level speed, agility, and stamina, and each specializes in a specific form of weapons fighting. Raphael specifically is stronger and taller than his brothers, lifting weights to relieve stress. As the Nightwatcher, he’s shown to use a classic ninjitu weapon comprised of a pair of chains connected to weights. These were not traditionally used offensively, but can crack a man’s skull if used with enough force.
As part of the ninja turtles, Raphael’s weapon of choice is a pair of sais. Also not traditionally used by ninja, they are also not commonly sharpened, but are used as defensive weapons designed to tangle up an opponent’s weapons in order to disarm them.
[character personality]:
Raphael is unique among his brothers in that they have always been satisfied to live in shadow, having limited interaction with the world of men. The concept has never sat well with Raphael, leaving him feeling as though their talents could be utilized to protect the people of New York City. As Master Splinter tells him in TMNT, he carries the weight of the world on his shoulders, trying to help whenever possible, regardless of consequence or personal danger. Master Splinter would have them stick to battling their own enemies and leaving humans to fend for themselves. Raphael sees this as a huge injustice to the people they are capable of helping, and often defies the wishes of both his Master and Father and that of his leader, Leonardo, and goes off on his own to do what he can.
In this, he has an ally in Casey Jones, who was a freelance vigilante himself before ever meeting Raphael or the rest of the turtles. Raph has a strong sense of justice and disregards conventional rules and practices to see that it is served. He was always at odds with his older brother, Leonardo, growing up, seeing him as the favored student and the favored son, a belief that was only strengthened when Master Splinter chose to send Leonardo off for individual training over the rest of them. Raph has always felt as though he was less valued in his father’s eyes, and turns those feelings of inadequacy on Leonardo most of the time. Rebellious and independent, Raphael resists most of Leonardo’s orders, usually openly defying them if the result in any hesitance, especially if it involves acting in a situation such as rushing so someone’s rescue.
He’s quick to anger when a situation calls for waiting, usually getting impatient to the point of running off on his own to do what he thinks needs to be done. This has lead to his capture and/or grievous injury on more than one occasion, but neither of these bother Raphael. To him, it beats sitting around doing nothing while the bad guys do whatever they want.
He has a soft spot for children, specifically those who show to understand the badness around them and show a desire to want to do something about it. Raphael almost instantly took a liking to Keno, a young pizza delivery boy whom they met shortly after defeating the Shredder for the first time, liking the kid’s spunk and drive. When the rest hesitated, Keno suggested he infiltrate the Foot to see what they were up to. Raph thought it was a great idea but Leonardo decided it was better to err on the side of caution. Raph and Keno snuck away, getting Keno initiated. Though it eventually lead to the returned Shredder capturing Raphael, in the end it proved very fortuitous to the mission, as Keno was able to lead them all right to the Shredder’s hide out.
Yoshi, a boy he met in futile Japan, stole Raphael’s heart with his passion. He started hanging out with the kid, getting the boy to teach him how to fly a kite and talking the kid into focusing on being a child rather than a member of the revolution. This relationship also proved useful for the turtles as Yoshi have Raphael the scepter that would return them to their own time. They’d been searching for it, and Yoshi had had it the entire time, having found it in the woods near where Michelangelo was found.
Raphael is proven to mood swings ranging from rage both in battle and frustration caused by his brothers, sullen funks where he goes off by himself to sulk, and goofball moments, usually with Mikey. Of his brothers, he is closest to Michelangelo, feelings a deep companionship with his youngest brother. He is fiercely protective of Mikey, and will put himself in mortal peril to protect the youngest turtle in battle. More than anything, Michelangelo appeals to the boy in Raphael, allowing him to come out of his sullen shell and just have a good time. Raph understands that Mikey looks up to him as a role model, and does his best to be what Mikey should see. Leonardo may not agree with his brash demeanor and impulsiveness, but Mikey seems to love it, and that’s enough for Raph.
Donatello is the brains of the outfit, literally, and Raph treats him as such. Donny usually remains silent unless provoked, but Raphael tends to bring that provocation out of him. Raph responds to Don with threats but no actual action. He feels his brother is a huge nerd, but loves him regardless, and bows to Don’s superior intellect in most things. Rarely does Raphael stick around to see Don solve the problem, though, having already grown impatient with the waiting and leaving. Raphael loves Donatello as much as he loves any of his brothers, but he isn’t particularly close to him.
Raphael’s relationship with Leonardo can be described as tectonic at best. The two eldest brothers have always been at odds. Raphael feels that Leonardo has always been the favored son, as well as the favored student. He reflects all this frustration on his older brother, rebelling against his orders and shooting down his plans at every possible turn. His feelings towards Leonardo seem to border of sheer hatred at times, but this is a misnomer. While it is a deep-seated resentment caused by Splinter’s perceived favoritism, Raphael loves Leonardo very strongly, and is often the first to act when his older brother is threatened. When the Shredder held Leonardo as hostage, Raphael was the first to throw down his weapons at the Shredder’s order, his love of his eldest brother burning away any feelings of resentment he may harbor for him. More than anything, Raphael perceives he and Leonardo to be in a constant rivalry for Splinter’s affection and approval, which is also a cause for his rebellious nature where Leo is concerned.
Master Splinter is Raphael’s mentor and father figure. Raph looks up to him in all things, and though he often questions the teachings of his sensei, Raphael takes comfort and companionship in his Master’s words. Raphael is often quickly over-run by feelings of loneliness and isolation, but Splinter is just as quick to shoot them down, reminding him that he is not alone in his isolation, that he is loved and valued. Raph is fiercely loyal to his family, and is overcome with rage when any of them are threatened. He would sooner die than betray any one of them.
Casey Jones and April O’Neal are two very important facets in Raphael’s life. Casey, though he and Raph started out on the wrong foot, as become one of Raph’s closest friends. Raph confides in him when he can’t turn to anyone else, and is generally in a good humor with Casey. As the Nightwatcher, it was Casey who was able to figure out it was really Raphael in disguise. It then became a running joke as to who was who’s sidekick. Casey does his best to get Raphael to see reason when he’s angry, and sometimes it actually works. In short, Raph value’s Casey’s opinion very closely, and he’s one of Raph’s closest friends. April serves as one of Raphael’s only connections to the outside world. She was the first human he ever really interacted with, saving her from a Foot ambush and bringing her home. She quickly became a facet in all their lives, bringing them things she’d purchased for them at flea markets, and giving them a place to stay after the Foot learned the location of their home. To Raph, she’s like a big sister, a part of his family, and he would defend her with the same ferocity as he would any of his brothers.
Raphael does have a sense of humor, though it isn’t the fun-loving, carefree humor of his brothers. He’s set apart from them with his snide, sarcastic tongue that he uses both to poke fun at the others, at all of them, or to goad bad guys into attacking. He’s impulsive, impatient, and gets annoyed very quickly when there’s too much talking and not enough action. Raphael has his own brand of justice, and it rarely jives with the status-quo. He strongly feels that, regardless of their appearance and genetic makeup, they shouldn’t have to hide from a world they’ve saved many times over, and is strongly resentful of the same world he wants to protect, knowing they’d hate them no matter how much they’ve done to help.
[point in timeline you're picking your character from]: Just after Raphael leaves the group at April’s apartment after being drugged by the Generals.
[journal post]:
[Audio]
[The rhythmic turning of the Carousel can be heard in the background. The voice that speaks is deep, harsh, and laced with a Bronx accent.]
Alright. I’ve been around this place twice. Don’t know if you’re the Foot or the Purple Dragons or somebody else completely, but you got two seconds to answer: What’d you chumps do with New York?
[third person / log sample]:
He was out the window and deftly climbing the fire-escapes to the roof in two seconds. Leo always thought his word was gospel. “Splinter said we’re not supposed to fight if we’re not fighting as one, Raph,” he said, his tone mocking. Suck up. Kiss ass. Leonardo, the golden boy. Daddy’s little perfect son. Raph scoffed, disgust causing a metallic tang on the back of his tongue. Leo’s gone for two years, abandoning all of them, then shows back up out of the blue and expects them to all fall in line like good little sheep? Well, screw that, Raph thought as he vaulted the edge of the roof.
“Showin’ back up like everything’s just supposed to be the same.” He voice was an angry growl. Leo had left them high and dry. Left to fend for themselves, they fell apart. No, he thought angrily. That wasn’t their fault. It wasn’t because they needed Leo, it was because Master Splinter thought they needed a leader, someone to make their unit one. He’d forbidden them from going out, from fighting the good fight, until Leonardo returned from his training and made them a cohesive whole. Didn’t he hear the cries at night, filtering down from above through drains, people being hurt, being robbed. Didn’t he care? How could he not? Sure their skin wasn’t green. Sure, they didn’t have shells, or fur, or whatever, but they were people. People that needed help. Help they could give. Didn’t Father get that? He’d forbidden them from interfering in the world of men, telling them to leave man’s problem to man. That didn’t fly with Raphael.
They were all part of the same city, the same world. Someone screaming for help didn’t have a color, a race, a species even. They were just people in trouble. If that meant he had to put on a suit and wear a mask to help, then he’d be New York’s Batman. There were people out there that needed a hero, and it looked like Raph was the only one who wanted to step up to the plate.
Leo wanted to brown nose Master Splinter some more. Master Splinter wanted to keep them away from the city they’d been born in, raised underneath. Funny, he thought as he opened his stash, pulling out a leather jumpsuit and matching helmet. When it was the Shredder and the Foot who were threatening New York, Master Splinter was all about fighting back. Throw normal crooks at people, and he couldn’t care less. Maybe it was because his Master had a history with the Shredder. He shook his head. If that was what stilled his father’s hand, that was just screwed up. People needed them!
"And Don," he scoffed again. "Always at that damned computer, picking on me for sleepin' all day." He shook his head as he pulled the zipper up on the Nightwatcher suit. "Least I'm doin' somethin'." What was Don doing? Helping little old ladies figure out how to plug in their routers while women were getting mugged on the streets of Harlem. "Yeah. Way to serve the cause, Donnie."
At least Mikey’s heart was in the right place, he thought. He’d heard Mike watching news about the Nightwatcher’s escapades, getting all excited and reliving their glory days. He couldn’t help but smile thinking about his youngest brother. Mikey always bordered on innocent and naive, and Raph had always felt a need to protect his little brother from the harsh realities of the world. Sure, Mike thought the Nightwatcher was great, and that what he was doing was good and worthwhile, but Raph wasn’t certain Mike knew the ramifications of the Nightwatcher’s actions, and he sure as hell didn’t want him to get it. Mike was a case in point. He was good, happy, and innocent. Above all else, those things should be protected.
He heaved a sigh as he settled the Nightwatcher helmet atop his head. Mikey was an idealist, Leo a kiss-up but a push-over. Don, as much as Raph wanted to throw animosity his way, was only doing what he thought was best, not to mention he was pulling in cash, which was keeping food on the table. Couldn’t complain about that. The Nightwatcher may do what needed to be done, but it didn’t exactly pay well…or at all really. He looked down for a moment. More than anything, what his family had been reduced to saddened him. In the old days, they would go out, kick some ninja butt, and then come home, have a pizza, and watch Don and Mikey play video games all night. What had become of their family? Their brotherhood? Had they destroyed everything? He didn’t have an answer, and that was the saddest thought of all.