Apritello pairing confirmed? Storyboard pics!!

[Refractive Reflections]

Originally Posted by BubblyShell22

She may have some MS traits, but I still like her character, and she's not flat out annoying like many other Mary Sues I've read in fan fiction, so she gets a plus for that. The writers are doing a good job of developing her character and letting her learn gradually. It would have been different if the Turtles had told her, "Yeah, you should go on missions with us even though you haven't trained as long as we have." However, they didn't and pointed out that she wasn't ready. She, in turn, did it anyway which showcased how stubborn she really was in the episode, which is a flaw in my book. She's not perfect or flawless at all, thus she's not a full-fledged Mary Sue.

Originally Posted by blindturtle02

Plus, she makes mistakes during a few of those bouts with Karai. I'm not totally sure as to what defines a Mary Sue character but I think they're supposed to be perfect in all walks of life. They seem to possess just the right skill for every situation. This April is far from flawless. She's alright at infiltration EG Panick in The Sewers, and she's getting to be a somewhat formidable fighter EG Karai's Vendeta. She does mess up rather frequently. The writers haven't gone out of their way to prove that she's a skilled chef, or perfect in numerous other fields of expertise. She gets by with what she has, and just barely at times, I guess. Isn't a mary sue also supposed to save the day every time? She certainly hasn't done much of that. Now if we start seeing allot more of what happened in Kraang Conspiracy, then I'd say we'd have a problem. But I think the writers know what they're doing, so April's in good hands. Well I'm pretty sure she is.

I guess I should explain on how I arrived at this. At first, I was reading how some viewers were calling Nick April a Mary Sue, but I didn't think so, yet I kept it in mind. With the episode, The Kraang Conspiracy, the pieces came together more closely to make Nick April have a big step toward the direction of Mary Sue territory. Now she's not a full-fledged Mary Sue, but I'll just say there are some warning signs that her character is close to it because it's one thing to have one superpower (one of the three I mentioned above), but to have all three... yeah...

It seemed like the Kraang plot couldn't even be expanded unless Nick April was using her powers:
1) We knew of the whole Kraang backstory with humanity because April could sense she and the Turtles were being spied on, and how they met Kurtzman. Plus these Turtles are ninjas and are supposed to be aware of their surroundings. I understand having Kurtzman being inserted here was used to add a new twist to the Kraang plot, but why have April first discover him though rather than the Turtles?
2) Nick April was the only one who could read and tune into the plans of the Kraang, when typically Donnie was initially the one who was most familiar with them (remember that communication Kraang orb?) based on whatever technology he could use to learn about them.
3) Although it was random, her mental destructive powers saved both her and the Turtles (with April Derp) from being in peril, which made her stubbornness (a flaw of hers) in the end of the episode, into an ironic useful trait in infiltrating TCRI. If it wasn't for her, yes the Turtles could have executed their mission (deleting April's DNA information) without any problems, but since April came along, it added a lot more depth to the whole Kraang Conspiracy, not by discovering new information (i.e. looking through any computers which typically Donnie did), but for the mere fact that April tagged along.

So yeah... to me it's a big warning sign after The Kraang Conspiracy, but thankfully not at that place.

[blindturtle02]

I seriously doubt she'll end up a ms. Maybe it'll be similar to the things the writers did in Shellacne. We're meant to think someone's going to go one way when they actually do a 180 on us. That's what I'm hoping for anyway. I wouldn't be surprised if they threw another unexpected yet phenomenal bit of story telling our way regarding the whole April bit. We've seen them do it in Pulverizer Returns and Shellacne among other episodes. Maybe we don't have anything to worry about at all. Just gotta wait a little for that payoff, I guess.

[victory_angel]

Originally Posted by Refractive Reflections

I guess I should explain on how I arrived at this. At first, I was reading how some viewers were calling Nick April a Mary Sue, but I didn't think so, yet I kept it in mind. With the episode, The Kraang Conspiracy, the pieces came together more closely to make Nick April have a big step toward the direction of Mary Sue territory. Now she's not a full-fledged Mary Sue, but I'll just say there are some warning signs that her character is close to it because it's one thing to have one superpower (one of the three I mentioned above), but to have all three... yeah...

It seemed like the Kraang plot couldn't even be expanded unless Nick April was using her powers:
1) We knew of the whole Kraang backstory with humanity because April could sense she and the Turtles were being spied on, and how they met Kurtzman. Plus these Turtles are ninjas and are supposed to be aware of their surroundings. I understand having Kurtzman being inserted here was used to add a new twist to the Kraang plot, but why have April first discover him though rather than the Turtles?
2) Nick April was the only one who could read and tune into the plans of the Kraang, when typically Donnie was initially the one who was most familiar with them (remember that communication Kraang orb?) based on whatever technology he could use to learn about them.
3) Although it was random, her mental destructive powers saved both her and the Turtles (with April Derp) from being in peril, which made her stubbornness (a flaw of hers) in the end of the episode, into an ironic useful trait in infiltrating TCRI. If it wasn't for her, yes the Turtles could have executed their mission (deleting April's DNA information) without any problems, but since April came along, it added a lot more depth to the whole Kraang Conspiracy, not by discovering new information (i.e. looking through any computers which typically Donnie did), but for the mere fact that April tagged along.

So yeah... to me it's a big warning sign after The Kraang Conspiracy, but thankfully not at that place.

I agree with you...however I don't think the Kraang took into account probability that she would gain powers by having her DNA mutated with Kraang DNA.

When she was giving off that sonic scream they were really surprised by it, particularly with the fact it messes with technology.

However I don't think April is absolute perfection.

There's nothing more boring than a perfect heroine!

These traits of a Mary Sue usually reference the character's perceived importance in the story, their physical design and an irrelevantly over-skilled or over-idealized nature.

The name "Mary Sue" comes from the 1974 Star Trek fanfic A Trekkie's Tale. Originally written as a parody of the standard Self-Insert Fic of the time (as opposed to any particular traits), the name was quickly adopted by the Star Trek fanfiction community. Its original meaning mostly held that it was an Always Female Author Avatar, regardless of character role or perceived quality. Often, the characters would get in a relationship with either Kirk or Spock, turn out to have a familial bond with a crew member, be a Half-Human Hybrid masquerading as a human, and die in a graceful, beautiful way to reinforce that the character was Too Good for This Sinful Earth. (Or space, as the case may be.)

Every character has traits that border on Mary Sue is. For example Donnie is a master at almost anything technological and scientific but there are times his ideas or inventions don't pan out the way he wants them too. And he's the more socially awkward of the bunch which adds to some of the humor with his character.

With April she is skilled and she does pick up things fast. But she's far from perfect.

The prototypical Mary Sue is an original female character in a fanfic who obviously serves as an idealized version of the author mainly for the purpose of Wish Fulfillment. She's exotically beautiful, often having an unusual hair or eye color, and has a similarly cool and exotic name. She's exceptionally talented in an implausibly wide variety of areas, and may possess skills that are rare or nonexistent in the canon setting. She also lacks any realistic, or at least story-relevant, character flaws — either that or her "flaws" are obviously meant to be endearing.

April for all appearances is a normal human girl. If you met her on the street she wouldn't be any different then everyone else. We don't know what her school life is like other then the fact that Trig is the one class she is failing in, and she doesn't have many people she hangs out with at school. There's only Irma and Casey and that it.

She is being trained as a Kunoichi by Splinter, but she has a headstrong personality which cause her to act impulsively or have rash judgement. I.E. Wanting to prove she is just as skilled and can hold her own as well as any of the Turtles, despite the fact that there is a huge gulf between their skill sets. Or run away from the Turtles saying she didn't want anything to do with them ever again, despite the fact there is a race of Alien's that are hell bent on capturing her.

She may have other flaws too. I don't think she'd be a bad cook, but she certainly wouldn't be celebrate chef level. I can see her using a crock pot in the lair so the Turtles didn't eat Pizza all the time which doesn't have a lot of nutritional value to begin with. And ramen hardly has any nutritional value.

While all the Turtle's have a familial bond with April (some less so then other), the only people who are really in love with her are Donnie and Casey. Karai wants her dead because she knows April has some important's to the Turtles and Splinter. And she also knows that April the key to whatever plans the Kraang have so eliminating her would prevent any plans the Kraang have. Shredder doesn't really care about April other then the fact she is important to the Turtles and can be used as a means to get them out of hiding.

With Mary Sues generally everyone is in love with her and fights over her whenever possible. The villains want her because she has this special power that they want to possess for themselves or their in love with her too and want her to be their queen, empress, whatever.

Now that April has been revealed to the an human/alien hybrid. That does explain her sensitivity. However in the TMNT universe a mutant is a person or creature who has come in contact with the mutagen (usually on accident) and becomes something else. In that regard April isn't a mutant...however she is only called a mutant because the Turtles at this time don't have anything else to call her.

[Whatswiththeheadbands?]

I think the Turtle shipping community are going to have a field day with these

[pannoni1]

No April has been a total Mary Sue yet in TMNT history; only Venus is the archetypical example. Remember to take all of these storyboards with a grain of salt, even if they are real, they could just be drafts that get revised into something else. This could just be a Valentine's Day gag that was retrieved by someone who broke through the leak wall, though it very well pertain to how Casey got involved in Northampton, perhaps April blaming Casey for forcing this escape? With the information described above, it seems that this April could be the most interesting character yet.

[Konchadunga]

Originally Posted by Refractive Reflections

So, as I was stating before, she may not fit the exact "gold standard" of being a Mary Sue, but there are some traits though. At the very least, Nick April is the most "Mary Sue"ish of the other Aprils though... right?

No; I can't even agree with this one. While it's true that April's psychic powers make her useful, so far they haven't made her useful for anything that doesn't really involve psychic powers. There's a preconceived, canon backstory that dictates what she can and can't do.

Compare that to 4Kids April. Arguably comparable to Donatello in science abilities, a pretty great fighter by the end of the series, and somehow pulling a "jungle girl" proficiency seemingly out of nowhere. Did she really need all of those talents at once? In my opinion, it was over-the-top ridiculous, which is increasingly my opinion of the 4Kids series as a whole. Yes; so was the Fred Wolf show, but at least it took jabs at its own stupidity.

[MiBs]

Originally Posted by Refractive Reflections

We knew of the whole Kraang backstory with humanity because April could sense she and the Turtles were being spied on, and how they met Kurtzman. Plus these Turtles are ninjas and are supposed to be aware of their surroundings. I understand having Kurtzman being inserted here was used to add a new twist to the Kraang plot, but why have April first discover him though rather than the Turtles?

I think the reason why she could sense him is because Kurtzman isn't human. We've seen April sense footbots, but not other humans. I think he could be some version of Kraang, maybe an android or a clone. The first April clone in "The Kraang Conspiracy" even fooled the Turtles, so the Kraang are pretty skilled at making realistic clones. I don't know if he actually is helping the Turtles and April or it will be revealed that he is working for the Kraang.

[Luckyday]

What could really help April to have a downside to her superpower. A real downside, not because "It use so much energy" BS that been done to death in anime. Add something like if she keeps trying to develop her power then she would be putting herself at risk of mind control by the kraang or she can't use it in high electric fields because it interferes with her brain waves. There has to be something to balance it out or at very least you going to have add more villains with psychic...wait that last part is a bad idea.

[Warhorse]

Originally Posted by Donatello19

I hope this is official, and it probably is because

Spoiler:

You can clearly see that they're living in the forest/woods, which has been confirmed will happen this season...along with Don's cloak thing (role play costumes, remember?)

I would love Apriltello to become a thing, however, I don't want to see April keep leading Don on and then just end up with Casey and have Don being sad for the rest of the season just for April to hug or kiss him again to make him feel better, then the whole process repeats.

I have yet to read the rest of this thread, but I have been aware of Donny having a crush on April in other incarnations, but it was very subtle, and this show deciding to not make it so subtle I would think could be it's signature. When looking at those boards, I personally adore the "you're my mutant" line! Hope to see it played out in the show.

[Lou 500]

Originally Posted by That Collector Guy

Bestiality shouldn't be a problem, guys. We're talking about a cartoon. It's not supposed to be realistic. And, have we forgotten Crisler's Law?

Tank Girl had an anthro kangaroo for a boyfriend and you can hook up with aliens in Mass Effect so it doesn't seem all that frowned upon. Oh, and Leo had a human girlfriend at one point in the comics.

[Warhorse]

Originally Posted by Lou 500

Tank Girl had an anthro kangaroo for a boyfriend and you can hook up with aliens in Mass Effect so it doesn't seem all that frowned upon. Oh, and Leo had a human girlfriend at one point in the comics.

I know, and lets not forget all about Shrek, it had a couple of, literally, odd couples in there. But for some reason, while it may be in the comics, the Turtle cartoons and movies won't let anything go beyond the crush. I just hope the writers don't take the easy way out. Take the unbeaten path once in a while, who knows, maybe the controversy might bring in more viewers.

[Konchadunga]

It's safe to say the couple itself has brought in more viewers than it has repelled; many of this periphery demographic being disgusted they've introduced Casey, presumably to break them up.

But bring on the controversy, I say! You know how I think they should resolve this? Throw monogamy to the wind, and everyone has a big orgy.

[CyberCubed]

April kissing Don better damn well be fake.

[JTH]

Originally Posted by CyberCubed

April kissing Don better damn well be fake.

It's already happened 3 times, and now you have a problem with it...

Cheek or lips or whatever. A kiss is a kiss is a kiss. Get a clue Cubed.

[CyberCubed]

Originally Posted by jth

It's already happened 3 times, and now you have a problem with it...

Cheek or lips or whatever. A kiss is a kiss is a kiss. Get a clue Cubed.

No those were pecks on the cheek. This one is an intimate kiss on the lips.

[ssjup81]

Seriously, if that storyboard is real, I hope it's all in Donnie's head. If they do make the couple officially official, I think it would be best left at the end of the actual series.

Maybe this is why they made April half mutant so it wouldn't seem as strange...then again we do have Gargoyles where Elise hooked up with Goliath...

[JTH]

Originally Posted by CyberCubed

No those were pecks on the cheek. This one is an intimate kiss on the lips.

Sorry, but that first kiss in LMoBS was an affectionate kiss. She grabbed him and pulled him to her. We've already had a kiss for you to be upset about.

[ssjup81]

Originally Posted by jth

Sorry, but that first kiss in LMoBS was an affectionate kiss. She grabbed him and pulled him to her. We've already had a kiss for you to be upset about.

Oh yeah, that was a bit affectionate...I guess, but she was super happy and grateful too for Donnie creating that retro mutagen.

Donnie's reaction to the first kiss was cute, though, muttering, stuttering out that "I love you"...

[NoName999]

Originally Posted by jth

Sorry, but that first kiss in LMoBS was an affectionate kiss. She grabbed him and pulled him to her. We've already had a kiss for you to be upset about.

It was affectionate yes. But not romantically affectionate.

[victory_angel]

Originally Posted by NoName999

It was affectionate yes. But not romantically affectionate.

That's right. It was an affectionate kiss, but April was meaning it as a thank you. She wasn't doing that to suggest anything. But she was excited about the prospect of finally having her father returned to her so she may have not realized what signals she may be sending.