Turtle tails
 

So with the return of the Turtles' tails in the Usagi crossover one-shot, what do you think of them? I mean, I don't think there's any real species of turtle that lacks tails and the idea that it might look too phallic doesn't seem to be a problem for any other media featuring anthropomorphic animals, just saying.

I like seeing the Turtles with their tails, but I also don't really notice their absence in the IDW series. I'm cool either way I guess.

I prefer the Turtles with tails.

Definitely with tails. They're mutated turtles, why wouldn't they have tails?

Of course they should have tails. And that's where their hoo-ha comes out of. As is, with no tail, where would it come from? Just peek-a-boo out of their ass and bend upward, like the creature from The Abyss?

I'm going to have to go rogue on this and say no. I just prefer without and leave it to mutation to have affected them all over to some extent rather than magically cherry pick one thing that remains unchanged. Though I understand other people's preference for it.

With many versions not including tails, the way I look at it... Even mammals, including us, start out with the cloaca in early development before the two systems divide (a few mammals keep it, plus occasional birth defects that didn't divide property), so mutate these guys into human-like or partly human (depending on version and personal preference) beings and who knows what mutation did to them. Without tails existing for many versions I've just shrugged it off as them possibly having just ended up as some wonky in between. And no, you don't have to like, share, or agree with my take on it. (*cough* Andrew. Or any pro-tail people who want to debate it.)

So answer the question. Where are their ****s? You're saying they just retain the cloaca? All four of them just have this big maw back there, between the plastron and the carapace? How would they even know they're male, then? Sounds dodgy to me.

And with no tail, how do they go #2? Just... sploosh, right out the back of their shell? Gross. That can't be right.

Yes.

I could go on about how it makes sense that they'd have tails because they are turtles and turtles have tails but for me, it's because it's adorable.

No matter how friggin' built they are they always have these adorably tiny tails and that makes me happy.

:roll: Oh Andrew, I knew I could count on you. My perspective alone - pretty sure designs that lack tails would suggest that whole arrangement would have to have changed and the normal cloaca system may therefor no longer even exist. (I understand that's probably too far fetched in your ideology.) My theory (or 'head canon' if you will, though I'm not fond of that term) is that their systems ended up divided, but still not quite human (mechanically speaking?), but that's as far as I tend to give thought to the set up and functioning of their junk or care to discuss. lol

And I guess the inevitable turn this topic of discussion was bound to take. Not happened for a while, I guess it was overdue.



And small little tails simply "because cute" kind of begs the same questions since it wouldn't support a "normal" set up, if someone (such as Andrew) wanted to get technical about it. Or we can just all like what we like and try not to give too much thought to it. (And stop blaming just "fangirls" for being the ones who want to discuss how their junk works. lol)

I voted for tails because they look dang ridiculous without them...

I’d never thought about that before. It’s like I’ve just taken my first step into a larger, grosser world. How do they poo when their shells tuck beneath their legs like they often do? I’m picturing an over-filled diaper scenario.

As far as the tails are concerned, based on their humanoid morphology and the absolute enormity of their quads, I’m guessing they must be hiding some impressive buttocks inside those shells. Would that mean that their tails protrude above the buttocks? If so, having them dangling out the bottom of the shells isn’t very realistic.

Edit: This also got me thinking about turtle junk and that lead me to wonder… when Raph retract into his shell in OOTS, what happens to his pants?

Like in that opening sequence and later all of them falling over the waterfall? I wondered the same thing. :tlol: Where are the floppy, empty pant legs?? How are they fitting all those body parts in there?? Granted 2012 has made me wonder the same about the lack of space to cram their limbs into the abdominal cavity (and what cavity?) like a bunch of weirdos (do said limbs turn inside out?) but the big PD guys just take it to the extreme. After all, three of the four are even including bulky footwear, and most/all with knee pads, etc. (And why isn't there fanart x-rays of this? lol)

Mikey? Where'd your sneakers go?
Oh, wait... I think I left them next to my spleen.

(Alright I'm laughing too much at this. :tlol:)

In a world where we don't see their tails because their cartoon/movie company thinks dumb people will confuse it for a penis, the Turtle straddles the toilet, tail comes out, kind of curls up, and poo goes BOOM out of the anus. It's the only way. In IndigoErth's world, if I'm understanding it (and maybe I'm not), there's just some kind of multi-purpose hole between the bottom of their plastron and carapace, where the human pelvis would go... and the Turtles just need to kind of aim their backside at the toilet correctly and hope they don't get too much crap over either edge of their shell. Nasty business. Really nasty business.

In a world where they freely display their tails, all of that minus the "tail comes out" part. Because it's already out.

Red-earred slider tails are fairly long. Goes out past what could be construed as the "buttocks area."

Clearly what needs to happen is

http://i.imgur.com/jYDiXWV.png

Oh my effing god, that is flipping adorable.

Clan Hamato needs to be an adopted Scottish name right now.


Yeah, you're not at all seeing what I envision. And I don't care to be drawing any diagrams, sorry. lol

Exactly - what a horror show. In the movie it makes a comedy 'pop' noise, like a cork coming out of an empty bottle, but can you imagine the sound it would make in real life?! The horrible squelching, crunching noise as his arms and legs dislocate from their sockets and suck into his body cavity, and the loud, prolonged sound of the gasses being forced out of his digestive system.

That's a good point - maybe it's just the tip of their tails. They definitely look better with tails.

Looks like the pants are still there when he tucked in, the pants don't go over the carapace so they probably don't hinder any shell retraction. Although, how are they even able to do that when they don't have a functioning shell... Or the hulkish bodybuild, sea turtles can't retract their limbs due to too much muscle mass inside their bodies. :lol:

But, tucking in as they fall down the waterfall, is hands down the best part about PDOOTS, the sound effect, it's all funny. As long as you've not been emotionally and mentally drained from watching the rest of the movie. :lol:

I could go either way but if given the choice - no tail.

*dies laughing* :lol:

Only a matter of time when one of them gets stuck like that. Then what. lol


I really rather dislike when OotS and Nick did/do it. It's just so creepy and awkward to me... *cringe* :tlol: Bugs me that it just doesn't work that way, and with their human proportions (or close) it shouldn't even be able to! You show me a turtle species that doesn't pull it's limbs in close to it's body (be it protected by shell or not) and instead sucks them into it's abdominal cavity like these shows/movies suggest... :teek: Esp with human proportions.. lol Wtf.

1990 did it well with just suggesting Mikey ducked his head down as viewed only from the back. (Every other iteration... I'd be just fine with it if we just stopped trying to do it.)

Weighing in here but... I kind of like it both ways depending on the version. In any case my headcanon is very stunted tails that are mostly hidden under/curled beneath the shell. Rather than have then sticking out (and providing a tempting and highly sensitive target during fights) they would most likely keep them tucked in. And I've seen anatomical drawings for both with and without tails that explain the peen/poo issue. With the tail it is pretty much like the average non-mutant turtle. Without, it is probably more along the lines of a human (or nearly so) configuration. My theory is that like most of us "ladies", they probably SIT to do their business, as reptile peens do not share double-duty as pee-holes.

Lets not forget Leo also ducked his head down in TMNT III. And it was clear that it goes in completely. How that works is anyone's guess, but Id bet their limbs could never fit. Heck, MOST versions have at least their heads still able to tuck in, but I DO think PD and Nick took it a little too far for the sake of humor.

I could never work out if they were implying that the Turtles had retracted into their shells at the end of SOTO. When Super Shredder pulls the dock down, and the Turtles bob up from underwater, you only see their shells. Then it sort-of looks like the filmmakers were trying to make it read like they are popping back out as they grab onto the remaining dock. You can easily read it otherwise though, because it's not very clear.

Okay, so this is a conversation that's now happening in my life.

So can someone explain what it's all about on a real turtle? So they have a cloaca from which pee/poo come out. They also have a penis that's connected to their tail? Is that what's being said? Is it a retractable penis?

Visually I generally prefer no tail usually. It helps me not have to think about their bits. But I admit it makes no sense.

Google, like, "red earred slider penis" and you'll see how it works. It pops out of a slit in the tail and goes way up.

i.e., if the Turtles have no tail... then they have no ****s. Unless they're intentionally tucking their tail inside.

And god dammit, my TMNT should have ****s.

How the Turtles poop isn't really anything I think about. Ever. It simply just doesn't matter to me at all.

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EDIT: Welp, I assumed the wrong word there underneath all that board censorship. I feel like a doofus.

Still, my point remains because the Turtles' genitals really aren't a part of my day.

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That said, I don't really care either way whether or not the Turtles are depicted with tails or not. If they're there, they're there. If not, then they're not. I'm cool with it either way.

But Mirage Turtles tails are tiny, so isn't that a little...unfortunate? Is it even reasonable at that size, for any purpose.


Where though, shouldn't it still be apparent at some angles? Save for versions that stupidly give them, what shall we call it... a crotch plate? I guess that could be assumed to conceal it, but that crotch piece just raises more questions, and compilations.


Personally I find that piece odd and unnecessary. '87 did just fine without. So you get the occasional nondescript green crotch shot....the world survived. (Unless you're a 'realistic' CGI mocap Turtle, then this requires pants. :tlol: And did you really want PD Mikey written to purposely moon the audience? Didn't think so.)

For me, it would depend on how the Turtles are drawn.

Mirage & realistically drawn TMNT - Tails are fine.
Fred Wolf / Archie Comics drawn TMNT - Nope. I can't see them with their tails.
IDW drawn TMNT- Turtle tails are okay.

The live action movies ..y'know, I never thought about the Turtle having their tails at all. I sorta thought that their tails shrunk into their bodies when they mutated into their humanoid forms, just like a frog's tail will shrink into its body as it physically develops from its tadpole stage to live on land near the water.

Um... yeah, look at red-earred sliders. Again, going back to the googling "red earred slider penis." Even factoring in the proportionate size of the tail in the TMNT... they could still scratch their chins with them.

A cloaca is a all purpose orifice, it's as simple as that. So a male turtle's penis pops out of the cloaca.

Exactly. Even without a tail, if they still have that then the peen is still there. Either way, I envision the d*** still retracting just like a normal turtle's would. Perhaps the cloaca is simply a hole under the shell and everything still works the same, just sans tail. The tail itself is not even really neccessary for that anatomically, asthe cloaca is a slit at the base of it.

I agree that the crotch plate is utterly rediculous and makes no sense. There wouls be no place for either the d*** to emerge from nor any place for the cloaca and the "plumbing" it contains. Google turtle anatomy charts- there are some good ones online. In fact, the one in Donnie's workshop in Nick is an image of a very simple but popular one used in anatomy studies of turtles!

I can't say I ever noticed the Turtles had tails or care. I guess I just wasn't looking enough. :lol:

Doesn't really bother me unless it affects how they look visually.

Yes (,in some situations).

No (,in others).

How would that work? Sometimes their tails would go in, sometimes they pop out? :o

If we're talking about mutations from real turtles, let's talk about the fact that the ooze gave the Turtles teeth. And that the Turtles seem to have no problem being "naked" in snow despite being cold-blooded creatures. (Yes Mike wears snow clothes in his one-shot, but that seems to be more about blending into the human crowd, Turtles are often seen in snow without any clothes).

I don't mind tails, if the cartoonist really wants to emphasize the animal look. It's kind of interesting, but I'm not chasing after that. But I would be disappointed if in the process of animalization they lost their teeth.

I know hardly anything about the furry fandom. Is TMNT part of it with characters like Old Hob or Alopex ?

Lol, you haven't been on Deviant Art, have you? Or Ink Bunny, or AO3, or.....

No I didn't. But now I know. Sorry for the dumb question, and thanks for the hint. :lol:

Jesus.

Y'all Muthaf*ckas.

Desperately Need.

Can someone explain to me how a fan-made commercial from 2008 has the exact same design for Raph as the 2014 movie? How deep does this rabbit-hole go? There is absolutely no way this was a coincidence.