Why do people act like Turtles having a crush on April has never been done before?

[Leo656]

Watching a few episodes of the new show back to back recently, Don's crush is becoming overbearing. I was hoping it wouldn't end up being the defining characteristic of his character, but it is, and it's just not being done very well.

I'm not against one or all of the TMNT having a crush on April, but the way they're doing it is just making me want to see less of Donatello entirely. If they're still doing the same shtick two seasons from now, I don't think I"ll still be sticking with this show by then. It's getting on my nerves. If they toned it down it would be different, but it's so unbearably front-and-center I can't stand it.

You could turn "Don mentions April" into a drinking game and be hammered by the end credits of any random episode. Too much.

[***First of Two Latin Kings***]

I don't think its over done, I think it just seems that way since he seemed to have a crush on her in the 2003 series but he was very careful not to make it obvious. Its just weird to me that it's Don who has the crush because its usually Mike. It's weird enough that Don is being voiced by Ol' Raph

[PApagreg]

Originally Posted by Lisardo

Heh, there's already Don/April (2012) smut art too now. I stumbled upon it by accident when I was doing a general TMNT Google image search. And there's also less smutty Don/April artwork on DA as well. Yeah the incestuous brother-brother porn crap is sick, but when you think about it, probably realistic.

You're gonna hate what you see if you google rubaka/akabur for the OT

[DonatelloNinja82]

Originally Posted by ZariusTwo

I take it you never watched Gargoyles...

Totally this...Elisa/Goliath...

Originally Posted by Zany Orange Dude

Soap wouldn't, but what about opera?

Phantom of the Floxy?

Originally Posted by ToTheNines

Rob Paulsen to Sean Astin on Twitter earlier today:

"We miss you, Raph. Please come back to the lair. Love, Donnie. Oh, please bring Turtle Wax. (got a date with April tonite!)"

True story.

That's just hilarious. I love Rob Paulson!

Originally Posted by FearlessLeader

Trust me people acting this way isn't strictly stuck in only Turtles fandom. There is crazy everywhere, sometimes I think it's just more obvious in Turtles fandom because we are small in comparison to a lot of fandoms and all kind of "know" one another.

Rob Paulsen is an amazing man, and that's about all I feel I need to say!

I am kind of in the "whatever floats peoples boat" area. If people want to ship things more power to them, as long as your not shoving it in my face and yelling at me if I don't agree I won't mess with your make believe dreams.

Though being a fan of Star Trek almost as long as Turtles I have to play devil's advocate and ask if the Turtles are really "animals"?? They are sentient humanoid reptiles which one could argue is an excelled step in evolution. I mean the Cardassian race in Star Trek are large humanoid reptiles and they are "people" and have relationships and offspring with mammal species.

Not that I'm saying the Turtles need to be procreating with anyone in any media anytime soon, it's just something I am curious about peoples thoughts about.

I totally agree with your Star Trek comment. I became a fan of ST:TNG a few years after TMNT, and there are lots of hybrid aliens on that show...it totally works.

I have nothing against TMNT relationships, as long as they are done right. I view them as sentient humanoids as others have stated. They walk, talk, think, have dreams and aspirations just like any human.

[Luckyday]

Originally Posted by Leo656

Watching a few episodes of the new show back to back recently, Don's crush is becoming overbearing. I was hoping it wouldn't end up being the defining characteristic of his character, but it is, and it's just not being done very well.

I'm not against one or all of the TMNT having a crush on April, but the way they're doing it is just making me want to see less of Donatello entirely. If they're still doing the same shtick two seasons from now, I don't think I"ll still be sticking with this show by then. It's getting on my nerves. If they toned it down it would be different, but it's so unbearably front-and-center I can't stand it.

You could turn "Don mentions April" into a drinking game and be hammered by the end credits of any random episode. Too much.

It starting to get on my nerves too but unfortunately it going to be one of those things that will keep going through the seasons of the show cause the writers think it just so freaking precious.

[Coola Yagami]

I guess another thing that helps with the fangirls is that the Turtles are actually cute in the cartoons. Understandably so, since most heroes or main characters have to be somewhat attractive (unless the show's main thing is, hey, we're different, we got a fat ugly dude as the hero).

We all know real life mutated reptiles that walk and talk wouldn't look attractive. They'd either look like Tokka, or like they do in Out of the Shadows. But that's not how they look like in the cartoons, so yeah, fangirls fall for them.

[BabyTurtles]

Originally Posted by Leo656

Watching a few episodes of the new show back to back recently, Don's crush is becoming overbearing. I was hoping it wouldn't end up being the defining characteristic of his character, but it is, and it's just not being done very well.

I'm not against one or all of the TMNT having a crush on April, but the way they're doing it is just making me want to see less of Donatello entirely. If they're still doing the same shtick two seasons from now, I don't think I"ll still be sticking with this show by then. It's getting on my nerves. If they toned it down it would be different, but it's so unbearably front-and-center I can't stand it.

You could turn "Don mentions April" into a drinking game and be hammered by the end credits of any random episode. Too much.

...I know...it's getting a little crazy.....

[BubblyShell22]

I don't think Don's crush on April is THAT bad. I actually think it's funny, especially in the latest episode where he tried to impress her by rescuing her dad. It was just really sweet.

[DonatelloNinja82]

I guess I'm just a hopeless romantic...I just think Donnie's crush on April is adorable (sadorable?)

[Captain PunchYouHard]

For my taste, it's right at the upper limit. Any more frequent, and it would be obnoxious. I might be willing to see it go deeper and further, but nothing beyond, say, Scott Summers and Jean Grey in the old X-Men animated series. If it turns into Donnie and April holding hands on top of the Empire State Building or some equivalent every episode, I swear I will go back to watching documentaries only. Currently, it's being used as a humor device/something to help viewers identify with the characters - I'm surprised she hasn't friendzoned him yet, due to that factor.

As to the anthro/bestiality aspect: My only personal issue with bestiality, or any other bedroom practice, is consent. Since animals aren't sapient, we can't be sure that they consent even if they seem to willingly participate - this is the same reason many countries have an age of consent and/or some protection for the mentally challenged. The turtles are obviously sapient, and Donnie more than the rest of them. He clearly consents. Maybe April will consent.* If so, I'm all for it - let's celebrate love wherever we can find it.

Yeah, I'm one of those Femsheps who sleeps with Garrus in Mass Effect 2.

Tl;dr: Omnia vincit amor! Donnie/April 4eva! (I refuse to call it Apriltello.)


*I'm talking about just the kissy stuff here, since they're not of age yet.

[DonatelloNinja82]

"Love conquers all..." Latin is awesome. And yes...I don't like Apriltello either. Not too big on when they mash the two names together. April/Donnie is much better.

[Leo656]

Way I look at it, in the context of this show at least they're not going to "hook up", so what's the point of keeping it going or intensifying it? If it becomes a recurring part of the show over a period of years, not only will it become annoying, it will completely undermine Donnie's character into some one-dimensional, delusional, co-dependent sap.

I'm not saying it's completely horrible or the worst thing they ever did, but it's pretty obvious this show will not be exploring any explicit Turtle/April romance, so I hope at some point they let it go and have Donnie move on.

[CyberCubed]

It's probably going to end when Casey Jones debuts in Season 2.

[Leo656]

I'm kinda half-hoping April starts to like Casey leading to Don getting all jealous and a character arc between him and Casey. If this thing leads to something story-wise, fine, but if it's just puppy love with no point or resolution, I'm not a fan of it going long-term.

[JTH]

Originally Posted by Leo656

Watching a few episodes of the new show back to back recently, Don's crush is becoming overbearing. I was hoping it wouldn't end up being the defining characteristic of his character, but it is, and it's just not being done very well.

I'm not against one or all of the TMNT having a crush on April, but the way they're doing it is just making me want to see less of Donatello entirely. If they're still doing the same shtick two seasons from now, I don't think I"ll still be sticking with this show by then. It's getting on my nerves. If they toned it down it would be different, but it's so unbearably front-and-center I can't stand it.

You could turn "Don mentions April" into a drinking game and be hammered by the end credits of any random episode. Too much.

I couldn't disagree with ya more Leo. Saying Donnie's crush on April is his defining characteristic. That's like saying Indiana Jones' defining characteristic is hooking up with a different woman on every quest he goes on.

Donnie's defining characteristic is still what it's always been, an scientist/inventor who more times than not, gets his brothers out of trouble.

And as far as saying it's not being written well; how else are you supposed to write about a character not knowing what to say or do to his first crush, who's very life happens to be in jeopardy?

Now I've said this before and I'll say it again: They made it clear since the pilot that the April/Donnie relationship was going to be one of the bigger deals in the first season and was going to reach its peek in the finale. You guys had 9 months to prepare for this, because it was very clear from the start that this was going to happen.

[Leo656]

Kevin Spacey pretty much told Brad Pitt he was going to present him his wife's head in a box in Se7en, and I don't think having time to get ready for it made it any more unsettling in the end.

......I have no idea why THAT, specifically, was the very first comparative scenario that my mind came up with.

Oh, also ::::::::::::SPOILERS::::::::::::::::::::: for a movie older than half of the people reading this.

[JTH]

Originally Posted by Leo656

Kevin Spacey pretty much told Brad Pitt he was going to present him his wife's head in a box in Se7en, and I don't think having time to get ready for it made it any more unsettling in the end.

......I have no idea why THAT, specifically, was the very first comparative scenario that my mind came up with.

Oh, also ::::::::::::SPOILERS::::::::::::::::::::: for a movie older than half of the people reading this.

Because we're wrestling fans, and we think of the crazy crap first.

[Leo656]

At first the ending of that movie bothered me. Then I watched Gwyneth in Iron Man again, and after that I felt she deserved it. Am I a bad person?

[Captain PunchYouHard]

The hypothetical alternative is that Nick will realize that there are more 12-to-40-year-old females watching than actual teen boys, and turn it into a shoujo anime.

*ducks thrown objects*

[MsMarvelDuckie]

Originally Posted by Candy Kappa

thing is they aren't evolved. They have gotten contaminated and affected by that, their mutation ain't natural.

And there is the whole thing how "evolution" works in fiction, clearly a humanoid for ain't what all species are going for in the far future.
"In the future. Dogs have evolved to a advanced bipedal being with the ability to speak and create machinery, raging war against humanity."

Ad the Star Trek example can easily be debunked that it's aliens, and they might not be just reptiles, but something entirely else that is compatible with other species/races.

Like the Dragonborn race in Dungeons & Dragons, they are a human/Dragon hybrid race, thought they have reptilian apperance, they aren't reptiles. Not even remotely, since Dragons aren't reptiles in D&D.

I personally don't care, I just commented on the whole connecting the TurtlexHuman relationship dislike to racism. Since the turtles are pet turtles, animals turned humanoid. They may have a human-like features, facial expressions, human like arms and legs, pose-able thumbs.

But they are still turtles, and some have turtles as pets.

had they been members of a ancient turtle race, it would probably had been different.

Not quite true on the Dragonborn- you are likely thinking of the 4th ed version, which not only ARE reptiles (Dragons ARE reptiles- they are listed in every version of the game as such, being cold-blooded, egg-laying, scaly creatures and even related to other reptilian races/species) but are also descended from one or more generations of such hybrids. In 3.5, Dragonborn was the name of a "race" created through a human (or dwarf, elf, etc) undergoing a ritual to be "reborn" with draconic attributes as followers of a draconic god (Bahamut). Prior to that, the only hybrid draconic "race" was the half-dragon (in 2nd ed) which was a true hybrid of dragon and human, dwarf, elf, or gnome, or, as in Dragonlance's Krynn, the Draconians, which were created by "mutating" dragon offspring into a humanoid form while still in the egg via a magical/divine ritual.

The point of this is that there is certainly precedent in other media for true hybrid offspring/mutations of two separate races/species to exist, and even to be able to have relationships with other speices. In Dragonlance, there are at least TWO examples in the novels of a human (or elf in one case) falling in love with a dragon (the metallic dragons of D&D are fully sentient and capable of changing into a humanoid form and living AS such races for extended periods of time if they wish). If such obviously different beings can have offspring, what's wrong with a mutated(or "reborn") turtle doing so?

This is really no different than human/alien relationships- In Star Trek alone there are Neelix/Kess, Tom/Be'lana, Sarak/Spock's mom(forgot her name, but she's human), Ryker/Troi, Kirk/any alien chick, Tasha/Data, Odo/the Bajoran chick on DS9, AltUni Tasha/a Cardassian, etc.... Aliens could be considered a totally different "species" as much as any animal is. And a humanoid turtle is no less "alien" in terms of physical differences than a member of an extraterrestrial species.

Given the prevalence of interspecies relationships in sci-fi and fantasy (because that's what elves, dwarves, and the like are), I don't see what the fuss is about. Why is a turtle/fox/lizard/etc any worse than any of the other romantic matches in fiction? At least it's not necrophilia!! (Which is what a relationship with a vampire would be. Take THAT, Twilight!!) And Gargoyles is one of the BEST examples ever!