Konchadunga
07-01-2022, 12:41 PM
Weird question, maybe, but if you look at it a certain way, it's one of the most pertinent questions in the franchise. Depending on the incarnation, and its relative closeness to reality, this sort of thing may already have been explained. Then again, for all I know they never bothered, and of course, none of them are actually required to answer this question in order to tell good stories. Still, I'm curious about this sort of thing, partially because the visual designs of the Turtles' stuff are among my favorite parts of this franchise, and partially because I'm pretty sure people have actually tried this sort of thing in reality, so if nothing else, some educated guesses could be made.
Still with me? Good. Now let's begin by addressing the most glaringly obvious problem of living in sewers: Water flows through them, at least occasionally, and that water is full of feces, urine, cooking grease, and undoubtedly many things not meant to be in sewers but still ending up there; so how do the Turtles deal with that? The most...humble answer would be that they're mutant turtles that have less pride and stronger immune systems than humans, so they just grin and bear the fact that they're frequently drenched by water that stinks of human waste. But this explanation can't explain a big part of series mythology; the Turtles and Splinter aren't just living in the sewers, but furnishing them. This involves objects that can't really survive being drenched in water, even if the water was clean. The fabric of much furniture would wear out, electronics would short-circuit and be a hazard, paper would dissolve, and a lot of the lighter stuff would be at risk of being flushed away. So anyone setting up a home in a sewer would need to account for all of those, choosing a place where water rarely flows, or if possible, never flows, and if that sort of place can't be found, blocking water from entering it somehow. And since at least without rerouting it, blocking it would likely cause major problems upstream, that brings us to our next issue.
Their specific reason for living in sewers is to hide. From their enemies, certainly, but also from society as a whole. To a large extent, that works, since many don't want to enter sewers, but it won't necessarily work for long against anyone actually willing to search the sewers. Now unlike some other aspects of this thread, many incarnations actually have explored that prospect. But I'm curious; is there anything they do to secure their lair beyond putting it in the sewer? For example, erecting walls and locked doors? I think maybe that's a good idea, but has such ever been shown?
So those are some queries of mine. Anyone want to take a crack at at exploring this sort of thing?
Still with me? Good. Now let's begin by addressing the most glaringly obvious problem of living in sewers: Water flows through them, at least occasionally, and that water is full of feces, urine, cooking grease, and undoubtedly many things not meant to be in sewers but still ending up there; so how do the Turtles deal with that? The most...humble answer would be that they're mutant turtles that have less pride and stronger immune systems than humans, so they just grin and bear the fact that they're frequently drenched by water that stinks of human waste. But this explanation can't explain a big part of series mythology; the Turtles and Splinter aren't just living in the sewers, but furnishing them. This involves objects that can't really survive being drenched in water, even if the water was clean. The fabric of much furniture would wear out, electronics would short-circuit and be a hazard, paper would dissolve, and a lot of the lighter stuff would be at risk of being flushed away. So anyone setting up a home in a sewer would need to account for all of those, choosing a place where water rarely flows, or if possible, never flows, and if that sort of place can't be found, blocking water from entering it somehow. And since at least without rerouting it, blocking it would likely cause major problems upstream, that brings us to our next issue.
Their specific reason for living in sewers is to hide. From their enemies, certainly, but also from society as a whole. To a large extent, that works, since many don't want to enter sewers, but it won't necessarily work for long against anyone actually willing to search the sewers. Now unlike some other aspects of this thread, many incarnations actually have explored that prospect. But I'm curious; is there anything they do to secure their lair beyond putting it in the sewer? For example, erecting walls and locked doors? I think maybe that's a good idea, but has such ever been shown?
So those are some queries of mine. Anyone want to take a crack at at exploring this sort of thing?