#squillz talks

If I had to pick another emotion other than “blown away”, it would be mad, mad at Nickelodeon, but that’s not what this post is about. It’s just...hard for me to be sad when the whole Rise team delivered a thousand fold. Everything that I love about this show, crammed into a whole 4 episodes. You have to give the crew credit; they knew the end was coming (mostly) and they smushed what they could into these remaining 4 parts. That’s not always easy to do. I would have loved to see what happened after the Shredder was defeated. The Turtles rebuilding their home, playing around with their new abilities, DRAXUM REUNITING WITH HUGGIN AND MUNNIN, and the newly revealed Cassandra Jones being integrated into April’s school and normal life in general. Girls nights will never be had with April, Sunita, and Casey. Mutants and yokai will never be slowly accepted into society. The boys won’t connect to their ancestors and just chat with the ones they have in common with (this theory here). Peter Cullen, Frank Welker, and Susan Blu may never grace the screen again as the Council. Also Mayhem, where hath thee disappeared too?

The season is over, but we’re still getting a movie. That has not wavered. And who knows? When Netflix releases the movie, they’ll pick up the remaining 13 episodes and get them made. Or heck, a third season will get made- Oh who am I kidding? The movie better just give me girls nights out, the alchemist and his gargoyles reuniting, and mutants and yokai being accepted into human society after a big bad destroys like half the city. Oh, and the Turtles officially renaming themselves as the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Until then, we still the Mad Dogs. I did predict that Shredder was the big bad in the prophecy, though I was really hoping that would be wrong. This oni who gave him these powers, STILL has the potential to be the bigger badder! I just never envisioned that may happen in the movie instead.

Ya know, just cuz this series is technically over, doesn’t mean we still can’t be utter trash to this fandom. We can still draw fanart, we can still write fanfics, we can still make OCs. Heck, we have so many prompts now to basically write the rest of the season! Just because a series stops doesn’t mean we the fans have to. We shouldn’t stop and we’re not going to. OK, now the sadness is taking over. I’m crying now. Remember, keep being a fan, keep making art, keep writing fanfics, keep creating OCs. Never let this fandom die. And keep bothering Nick, maybe Netflix a little too. But still, be civil!

Rise up, be a Mad Dog! Now and forever!

I know everyone seems to be in never-ending panic mode because of the new episode titles for Rise (most likely) coming up in about a week. Finale and Ant with your tweet, whyyyyy? But I'm sincerely hoping this is not the end. Zap2It is not always incredibly reliable, but it does usually say things with an episode in purple letters like "SERIES PREMIERE" or "SERIES FINALE" when it actually premieres on TV. It's not doing it for these episodes, despite saying Finale as the first word in all episode titles. Anyway, I got to thinking. It probably only says "Finale" because it's the mid-season finale, and/or it's the end of the Shredder arc.

So @raisinrat mentioned in their theories that if this is only the mid-season finale and/or the end of the Shredder arc, the show may pull a She-Ra 2018. Defeat the big bad, only to reveal an even bigger badder. Who remembers this scene?

That's right, the prophecy. Something super bad is supposedly destined to happen to the yokai that may most likely wipe them from existence. They haven't brought up the prophecy since the season 1 finale. The show probably wants to forget that it exists so that when Shredder is defeated (maybe), we'll suspect it to be the end and everything's all well and good for human and yokai kind alike.

Now I know what you're all probably thinking right now: maybe Shredder is the great enemy that will destroy all yokai-kind. That is when I draw your attention when the Council is drawing up Draxum's crimes:

They mention that he used dark mystic forces to try and destroy humanity. They don't say anything about the prophecy, let alone that Shredder is the enemy the prophecy speaks of. Then again, he totally could be after the boys are reaching their potential after the gif we saw today. They may not defeat the Shredder in the new episodes this Friday and they're saving that ultimate battle for the actual season finale.

And another thing. Aren't we all wondering how the Shredder came to be? A demon composed of dark armor, possessed by the soul of the madman who wore it, the leader of the Foot Clan. Of course things can't just get possessed on their own. There has to be some evil mystic yokai magic behind it. The Shredder, before he became a demon, was a human who probably got tricked by a shady yokai who promised him ultimate power. Maybe. It's just something I hope they explain to us. Eventually.

In my mind, it is my greatest hope that after the final battle, whether it's the end of the show itself (whenever that might be, hopefully not with the movie) or by the end of film (whatever the plot may be), the human and yokai worlds will meshed into one and the differentiating species learn to do-exist peacefully.

Unfortunately, if Shredder somehow does get to be revealed to be this "great evil destroying yokai" and the prophecy is fulfilled...then this theory is for naught and I have wasted your time. Sorry! 😅

But I’m glad you stuck around to read the whole thing! Thank you!

My theory is that all those 500 years ago when the Shredder was defeated, the lady we see defeat Shreddy was the head of the Hamato Clan. She had 4 children like Splinter, but not 4 sons (or daughters because that'd be too stereotypical). She had an two sons and twin daughters, living in a world alongside yokai in peace (I know the whole controversy with Leo and Don being twins is intense, but with this, it works). And if the episode synopsises stay true to form for E-Turtle Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Shreddy Or Not, we'll see these five in the past, training and maybe the original battle with the Shredder. Or, and this is one of my biggest hopes, connect and talk with the current Hamato-Jitsu family as spirits. It doesn't even have to be in battle, just in hanging out in the lair together and chatting. (However with the gif on Friday of the sewers being destroyed, that may not happen. 😢) But with the new gif of the boys with the glowing Hamato symbols on their plastrons (HUGE NINJA TRIBUNAL VIBES, THANK YOU), the "connecting with the spirits of their ancient family" part could still be plausible. 

Now onto the actual bios I have for the original Hamato family I have in my mind:

The head of the Hamato Clan, Miwa, is more of a serious sensei than Splinter when it comes to training, but she does have her moments of chill and playfulness as her teenage children and next generation Hamato ninjas. She never lets anything get in the way of her enjoying her tea, even the sometimes destructive antics of her children. Know how people compare Splinter to Uncle Iroh from Avatar the Last Airbender, minus the great love for tea? Well Miwa is like Uncle Iroh with the tea, and obviously a woman. 😂 

Next up is Shouta, the eldest child and son at 15. Strong and buff, but his heart is soft like a marshmallow, just like Raph. When he's not training or being total goofs with one of his sisters and his younger brother, he's often out in the nearby fields and woods. He's either being completely in-tune with nature or caring for any injured woodland creatures he may come across. There's rarely ever a day that goes by he doesn't try to bring home a bird or bunny to keep as a pet, only to either be denied no or fail to keep it a secret. While he's big and strong, he can be somewhat of a crybaby. He can't stand scary things or stories. But you lay one finger or hurt the feelings of anyone in his family or clan, be prepared to suffer his wrath in one good punch. His weapon of choice are steel tekkō, the medieval Japanese version of brass knuckles. 

Then there's the Leo of the group, one of the 14 year-old twin girls, Yuki. She's somewhat cocky, very talkative, and plays the occasional harmless prank. She finds the ability to make jokes while in battle with either cause her enemies to laugh themselves into letting their guard down, or underestimate her fighting abilities. It's usually the second theory because her jokes are more often than not only funny to her. Because while there are times she can't stop making snarky battle remarks, that doesn't mean she isn't a master-in-the-making with her twin katana. She never leaves home without her trusty navy blue scarf, even trains with it. It's the only way to tell her apart from her twin sister, other than how she wears her hair, in high twin ponytails. She's lightning quick with her blades and how her siblings wished it wasn't her mouth as well. 

Yuko, the genius and prodigy weapon smith, is the girl that Donnie would want to hang around with if they were alive at the same period of time. They're both incredibly book smart and create inventions, like armor or weapons. She wears her hair in a single high ponytail. While she loves and cares for her sister and would help out with a twin prank once or five times, she hates being compared to Yuki. They look alike, even sound alike. Yuko considers herself a cultured and poised individual, not like her usually-not-so serious twin, or even her brothers. But she would go to the ends of the universe before she let anything happen to her crazy siblings. She outfitted a chigiriki staff in metal instead of wood and made the chain longer with a lighter weighted end. She employs highly-thought out strategy in her fighting. Being a distance, she can calculate for variables that can be missed when fighting directly in the face with an enemy. Using the environment, figuring out any potential weaknesses, anything that can prove useful. She never lets anything go unchecked in anything in her life, in and outside of battle. 

Lastly is Minato. Nicknamed Mi-chan, this artistic ninja loves to paint scenery and sew. When he was younger, he would often be teased for things that usually girls did or learned, even wore his hair like how his sisters did sometimes. Not to mention be called Minako, a girl's name that sounded incredibly similar to his. But his family helped him ignore them and keep being who he liked to be. Don't let anyone put out your optimism like water to fire, keep burning bright how you want to. He may give off the vibe that he's too cheerful and carefree, but he's not unintelligent and his siblings will defend that honor against any bully who dares oppose it. He definitely doesn't skimp out on any of his training either. He's fast, flexible, and 13 just like Mikey and even has a similar weapon to his. He could easily sweep any enemy of their feet or disarm them of any weapons with his kusurigama. His favorite battle strategy is using the enemy's size and strength(s) against them. He loves to see the good in people first, but if you denounce that chance, say bye-bye. If he and Mikey ever met, he would happily exclaim, "Yay, we have another Mi-chan in the family!" 

Now this is where it gets angsty. This part won't happen for sure in the show if something even remotely like this theoretical family happens, too bloody and dark. Each of the teens got an injury from the Shredder when facing off against him. Shouta got slashed on his right eye and side of his face. Yuko got slashed on her back, to the point of near paralyzation. Mi-chan lost his left arm from the elbow down. And Yuki...had her throat slashed; she lived but she couldn't speak again. That is when her scarf became more relevant than ever. Each of them survived this battle, including Miwa, who received the most fatal injury...but it wasn't physical. That will be revealed later! When they all eventually died, their injuries were healed but became eternal scars on their spirits. Yuki, however, wasn't as lucky as Shouta regaining eyesight in his right eye, Mi-chan getting his left arm back, and Yuko walking properly again. She can't speak normally, only telepathically. You can tell when she's speaking her voice into someone's mind because her eyes glow when does, and stop glowing when she stops talking.