A return to the Turtles' alcohol consumption?

[CylonsKlingonsDaleksOhMy]

Originally Posted by Leo656

I do kinda think FW TMNT would eschew alcohol for those reasons, but... well, let's be honest, those guys were pussies.

[Leo656]

I have this picture in my head of FW Donnie wilting like a flower upon seeing one of the others with a can of Budweiser or something. "Is that a... is that a BEER?" ((faints)) And then Mikey's all like "Whoa, WAY uncool, April!" because he was in that Cartoon All-Stars To The Rescue gimmick.

I barely even noticed it when I read the Mirage books for the first time and saw them talking about beer. Fact is, most "normal" people drink sometimes. It's the much smaller number of complete and total assholes - of which I've known plenty - who give "drinking" its whole stigma. Most people have one or two beers with dinner and are perfectly fine, but that's not the stuff you read about. But that is, indeed, how "drinking" works for 99% of people who do it.

You can always tell the ones who've never had a drop because they immediately assume that anyone who does is a fratboy lunatic or something, which is quite comical. I generally assume those people had problematic family members who scared them away from it. Which is fine, I've been there, but the pearl-clutching does come from a perspective of ignorance.

Like no, nobody "needs" to drink, but drinking doesn't display any sort of lack of morals or character, and it doesn't make you a bad person. Being a bad person makes you a bad person, and lots of bad people are stone sober. Just sayin'.

For the record, my wife wishes I'd drink a lot more than I do because I'm a lot goofier and more friendly. I keep telling her I might if we could afford it, but I'm a responsible adult with bills to pay.

[CylonsKlingonsDaleksOhMy]

I seem to remember Michelangelo in that DARE cartoon as well. Intimidating some kid who fell down a sewer and DUDE, LIKE, DRUGS ARE BAD, DUDE.

Am I remembering that more or less correctly?

[Leo656]

Yes you are. I rented that tape more often than I'm comfortable admitting to.

Ironically enough, I've always been sort of a hardliner about substances and I hold no sympathy for "addicts", and my personal views on the subject can seemingly make no sense to an outside observer, but it's all been shaped and informed by my life and the people I've been around extensively, and thus they make perfect sense to me and the people who've been close to me for a very long time.

Like, for example I do feel that things like cocaine and heroin go hand-in-hand with being a bad person, either as a direct cause or merely a side effect, but I don't think it's possible to be a decent human being while also consuming those substances, I think they're antithetical entirely to being a "good person". Alcohol, not so much. Although if someone's already a bad person, they definitely shouldn't drink, but you can drink and still in theory be a good person.

I'unno, it all makes sense if you know me or my family really well.

[PurpleMusic]

All 4 are clearly stoners. Don I could see as sort of an Owsley type, making LSD on the side. Also I liked Next Mutation's depiction of Mike as a rave-hosting pirate radio guy. In my opinion the turtles can't truly be the turtles without at least the subtext of drug culture

[Leo656]

How is Leo "clearly" a stoner? If anything he's the one I could easily see being "straight edge", or at least the closest to it.

Mikey, though, absolutely. That guy's baked outta his gourd. Reminds me way too much of my old tag team partner (who incidentally named his son Donatello... poor kid ).

[PurpleMusic]

Originally Posted by Leo656

How is Leo "clearly" a stoner? If anything he's the one I could easily see being "straight edge", or at least the closest to it.

Mikey, though, absolutely. That guy's baked outta his gourd. Reminds me way too much of my old tag team partner (who incidentally named his son Donatello... poor kid ).

Because it's just kind of a day-to-day thing. Leo would absolutely use some sweet kiseru pipe while out meditatating, if not mushrooms/peyote/ayahuasca/etc.

[Leo656]

You sound like you've given this a whole lot of thought.

[CylonsKlingonsDaleksOhMy]

Splinter dosed Leo with some "Infini-tea" once that had the boy trippin' turtle balls.

So... relevant to current topic? Maybe. Who cares. Never forget: Splinter roofied his own damn son!

[Andrew NDB]

Originally Posted by Leo656

I love the people who are like, "They wouldn't do that! They're TEENAGERS!"

Your average teenager drinks, and to excess, FAR more often than the "average" adult does (although the adults who DO binge kinda wreck the curve).

Let alone teenagers growing up in a sewer, getting beaten into shape by a ninja master, training to one day kill a man. I don't think they're going to care about the laws of man. They aren't part of our society.

[Leo656]

Originally Posted by Andrew NDB

Let alone teenagers growing up in a sewer, getting beaten into shape by a ninja master, training to one day kill a man. I don't think they're going to care about the laws of man. They aren't part of our society.

It keeps needing to be repeated, even though it's never gonna fully sink in for some people.

I mean, I understand a reader/viewer projecting a bit of themselves into their recreational material, and I also understand that in any version the Turtles themselves would be shaped to some degree by what they've managed to observe of human beings and their norms/customs, but that's not to say they'd be "just like people" just because they watched a lotta TV. It was 15 years or so before they'd even had a conversation with anyone besides themselves.

I'unno. Whole thing is weirdwith regard to how "humanlike" they are/are not and completely falls apart if you over-think it.

Originally Posted by CylonsKlingonsDaleksOhMy

Splinter dosed Leo with some "Infini-tea" once that had the boy trippin' turtle balls.

So... relevant to current topic? Maybe. Who cares. Never forget: Splinter roofied his own damn son!

Ahhhhh yeeeeeaaaaah, I 'member that. I kinda don't like Mirage. Although it made some sense in context, still kinda "WTF".

[Andrew NDB]

Yeah, it never ceases to amuse and annoy me.

"WHY CAN'T THE TURTLES ACT MORE LIKE NORMAL HUMAN TEENAGERS??! I DON'T UNDERSTAND!!"

Because they're not! They shouldn't be anything like normal human teenagers and how could they be?

[Powder]

Originally Posted by PurpleMusic

All 4 are clearly stoners.

Do you even TMNT?

[Wildcat]

I can see the turtles trying alcohol and probably 1 or all 4 of them liking it.

Teenagers aside. I don’t think it makes sense because like I mentioned it goes against being physically and mentally fit to fight and deal with things. It’s what Spinter has taught them since the beginning.

I know you can drink a bit and not loose all control but it still dulls your senses to a point and they’re always needing to be prepared for something.

Living underground and seeing human behavior through tv or hidden in the shadows can go either way. They know about alcohol and don’t care, don’t completely understand it or are curious to taste it.

After that I don’t really see them drinking on a regular basis.

[LeotheLateBloomer]

Originally Posted by Wildcat

I don’t think it makes sense because like I mentioned it goes against being physically and mentally fit to fight and deal with things.

I'm pretty sure Bruce Wayne has had a few shots in his life yet it hasn't affected his physique in fighting crime.

[Andrew NDB]

With Splinter it was probably like... "Train HARD... and one day a week you can drink the thing you call 'beer'!"

[Wildcat]

Does Batman drink? I briefly googled it and it looks like no.

Anyway sure the turtles could possibly drink at some time but it just seems pointless. Both from a character standpoint and writing standpoint.

[Andrew NDB]

Originally Posted by Wildcat

Does Batman drink? I briefly googled it and it looks like no.

I'm sure he does socially, to keep up appearances as Bruce Wayne. But like when he's in focused Batman mode, or mulling over a case in the Batcave? No, certainly not. Nor would he ever be like, "Damn, I could use a drink." But that's a dumb comparison as the Turtles are nothing like Batman on any level beyond a vague revenge level in their origins.

Anyway sure the turtles could possibly drink at some time but it just seems pointless. Both from a character standpoint and writing standpoint.

Also dumb. It's like saying, "Why do the Turtles need to adopt a cat? It's pointless. Why would they do that?" From the perspective of "they're in isolation, they have to dwell in the shadows only observing a society they have no part of or in, while wanting to" it's endearing.

Should anyone really care on a morality level if four 15 year-old mutated turtles stuck in a sewer drink a few beers once in a while? Shaddup. They're not, like, supposed to be in school or anything. Their school is learning how to kill people better, everyday.

[Wildcat]

Well in that case every leisure activity they do is pointless. Games, comics, skateboarding etc.

I’m not saying people who drink are slobs or drunks who can’t control themselves but it’s just something that comes off different.

Adopting a cat might be just as pointless but caring for an animal makes sense because they understand being on their own and they live in mostly isolation.

Killing people? I’ve never read the comics but they fight villains.

[Andrew NDB]

Originally Posted by Wildcat

Well in that case every leisure activity they do is pointless. Games, comics, skateboarding etc.

You're disproving your own case.

I’m not saying people who drink are slobs or drunks who can’t control themselves but it’s just something that comes off different.

How so?

Killing people? I’ve never read the comics but they fight villains.

I'm only speaking to the comics. The source material, where they were raised by Splinter for the sole purpose of revenge-killing a man (Saki). And yes, they encounter villains now and again (but they're NOT vigilantes... they are not going out there fighting mankind's crime for the sake of humanity, they don't care about that and why would they?) but their training from 0-15 would consist solely of being better and quicker on the draw than Oroku Saki when it comes time to fight him and murder him. That's it.