Damned Application
Age: 23
Gender: Female
Timezone: Eastern Standard Time (EST)
Personal LJ: willowslament
E-Mail: willowslament1@aim.com
AIM/other: willowslament1
Is English your primary language?: Yep
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Series: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2003 animated series)
Series' Medium: Cartoon
Character: Hamato Raphael
Age: . Roughly 18? I doubt even he knows for sure.
Sex/Gender: Male
Canon Role: He’s the "red oni" of the group, the second in command, the rebel and the anti-hero.
"Real" Name: Ralph Harmon
How long have you roleplayed your character, if at all?:
I began playing Raph in a prose-heavy fandom RP I ran known as The Undergrounds in the winter of 2008. That game ran about nine months until it fizzled. Afterward, I was enabled to pick him up again in LJ RP where I played him at Luceti from January 2010 to July 2011.
Please give us a personal history of your character's life and explain to us in detail how they grow and develop over the course of their canon:
It all began with a very familiar story; four pet turtles stranded in the sewers of New York, a canister of spilled mutagenic ooze, and the bizarre series of events that made the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles what they are today.
Raised by their similarly changed father and teacher Master Splinter, Raphael and his brothers lived a life cloaked in shadow far below the streets of New York. It wasn’t a bad childhood, from what Raph remembers. Yeah, they didn’t have a lot of things most kids had growing up, but when that’s the only thing you’ve ever known, it really isn’t so bad. He had no idea what he was missing. All he knows is that no matter how much his upbringing might have lacked, Raphael always had his family. That’s all he’ll ever need.
Growing up, his brothers were both his friends and playmates. They could entertain themselves for hours. And with no distractions like fancy toys or television, he and his brothers formed a bond so tight nothing can come between them. Raphael has grown up always having a brother within arm’s reach, always having someone to trust and lean on when he needs it most. And over time, he and his brothers have learned to balance one another’s personalities perfectly, each one compensating for the others’ strengths and weaknesses. But take any one brother out of the equation and you have a hole. It’s like amputating a limb. None of them can function anywhere near as well as they can as a team.
While Raphael may be characterized as the most independent brother, always determined to go off and do his own thing, it would be a gross misinterpretation to say he can function well without his brothers. He can survive, sure, but not without a heavy emotional toll. In fact, the creators of the canon claim that the very root of Raphael’s greatest personality flaw (his anger) is how alone he feels in the world, being one of only four of his kind. Because of this, Raph’s grown to become a defensive, broody, and incredibly angry young man.
These feelings of loneliness can be traced back to his childhood. Practically since the day they could walk, the turtles were taught the practice of ninjitsu, passed down from their sensei’s memories of his life as a pet rat in a cage, learning by mimicking his Master Yoshi’s movements. Splinter was always candid about his motivations behind the grueling training. From Raphael’s earliest memories, Splinter has groomed them to believe that practicing ninjitsu was a means of defending themselves from the hostilities of the world above. To Splinter, there was no questioning his sons would one day have to fight for their survival, that any human would eagerly kill them on sight. Every waking moment of Raph’s childhood was laced with his Master’s warnings of the evils that lurked above, the world of the bloodthirsty humans who filled his young mind with nightmares. As far as young Raphael was concerned, humans weren’t people, they were monsters.
But as the boys grew older, all of Splinter’s warnings became a constant hum in the background of everyday life, taken less seriously with each repetition. And by the time Raph hit his teenage years, the world above became less of a nightmare and more of a forbidden fruit. Yeah, living in the sewers worked for them, but Raphael craved more. His fighting spirit was way too wild to be cooped up underground for the rest of his life.
At the age of fifteen, the four brothers were forced to venture to the surface for the first time and curiosity quickly overrode the fear. After their home was destroyed by a hoard of savage robots, the turtles found themselves separated from their father by a collapsed sewer tunnel. The only way around was up, and Raph had no problem with that. He’d already started climbing the ladder before his brothers could think twice, and eagerly blazed a trail through the forbidden shadows. In that world above, Raphael found a type of freedom he’d never experienced before. It was exhilarating; all that fresh air and wide open space. Finally, he felt like he could breathe. But there was one small problem - the actual humans. While their world wasn’t the nightmarish landscape Splinter made it out to be, the turtles found the humans to be just as big a pain in the shell as their master had promised. It was just like Splinter said - people don’t understand how a five foot talking turtle can mean them no harm, so instead they’re afraid. Instead, they attack.
Then again, having four turtles jump at you from the shadows then make off with your loot would probably make anyone cranky. Raph learned a valuable lesson that day: Find better hiding places than the back of stolen armored cars, especially those belonging to gangsters. Unless you’re looking for a fight. Then you’ve got yourself one heck of a party.
From that day on, the turtles’ first exposure to humans has avalanched into a constant battle for survival. Not that this was a bad thing. All his life Raph wanted a chance not to just learn, but use Splinter’s teachings. He wanted to get in on the action, fight real battles. And the more the turtles got involved with the misdeeds of humans, the more Raph felt he was putting his master’s teachings to good use. Over time, he became the first to charge into battle, the first to stop talking and take action to solve his problems. This lead to a lot of disagreements between him and Splinter, and more notably, him and his brother Leonardo. Out of all of Raph’s brothers, Leo was the one who adhered the closest to Master Splinter’s teachings. And no matter what was going through Raphael’s head, he would never let his brother just charge into a situation on a whim. This lead to a few pretty nasty fights that became a reoccurring theme throughout the series.
As their run-in with local street gangs blossomed into a full-scale war against the evil Shredder and his clan of bloodthirsty ninja known as the Foot, the turtles faced a range of threats from your typical crooked street punk to high-ranking government agents bent on dissecting them in the name of science.
During these struggles, Raphael and his brothers began to learn more about the true nature of humanity. Raph quickly came to realize that not every human was a monster from his sensei’s stories. In fact, some of them had it pretty rough. Soon, Raphael’s eyes were open to the idea that humans didn’t just prey on people unlike them, they also preyed on each other. Raph learned to identify with these underdogs, the homeless, the naïve, the elderly, and just couldn’t hold onto his misconceptions.
To say that Raph has a soft spot for those weaker than him is an understatement. They seem to fill the void left behind from his feelings of loneliness. Just like him, these people know what it feels to struggle for everything they have. They know what it feels like to not have enough in a world of excess, to be persecuted and forgotten, to feel alone in the universe. These are the kind of people he tries to help every chance he gets. The most significant canon examples of this are April O’Neil, Mrs. Morrison, and Tyler.
April O’Neil was the first human to come into the turtles’ lives. In fact, she was the first human the turtles had ever come into contact with period. Saving her from the mechanical menaces known as the “Mousers”, the same robot hoard that had destroyed their home, meant they couldn’t just sit back and watch. Not only did they have a common enemy, but as much as the turtles distrusted humans, they couldn’t just let this defenseless woman die. So the woman was saved and brought back to the Lair. At first things were rocky, and Raph quickly lost his patience when she wouldn’t stop freaking out. But eventually, April came to her senses and struck up a friendship with the turtles that saved her life. And while Raph may not be personally close to April, he’s glad they saved her that day. Not only did April introduce a completely different side of humanity into the turtles’ lives, it made them believe that somewhere out there, there were people willing to accept them for who they are. Still, Raphael holds tight to his anger at the injustices of his lot in life, but the knowledge that there are people like April out there keep him from completely hating the world.
The episode with Tyler is one of the most defining episodes for Raphael’s character. Raph found Tyler, a kid about the age of seven, hiding from a bunch of mob goons in an alleyway. Knowing he couldn’t just walk away from something like that, Raph stayed and watched as Tyler tried to hide from the mobsters until he was found and dragged back into their clutches. Filled with well-justified rage at the mobsters’ gall, he risked everything by jumping to the kid’s aid, exposing himself to attack the goons and protect the kid from whatever trouble he was in. Soon, one fight turned into a mission to save the kid’s mother from the mob boss himself, during which Raph risked not only his own life and limb, but valuable time searching for his then missing father to help someone weaker than himself. Even temporary blindness couldn’t keep him from fighting the goons and reuniting the boy with his mother again.
The episode with Mrs. Morrison was yet another of Raph’s defining episode. Again, he and Mrs. Morrison met completely by accident. This time, Raph was the one who was running from a lynch mob of people thinking he was an alien left over from the recent invasion of New York by the Triceretons. Luckily, Mrs. Morrison was blind and mistook Raphael for a helpful neighbor boy come to help her move her things out of her apartment. Unable to expose himself, Raph played along with the old lady the best he could, and even came back to help and visit her later on. He loved how Mrs. Morrison treated him like he was a normal. It was refreshingly alien to be told to hurry home on a school night, or sit chatting over tea without any strange looks. When he learned about Mrs. Morrison’s financial troubles after the death of her husband, Raph couldn’t help feeling sorry for her, but had no way of helping her. His family was even poorer than she was. He had no way of getting the money she needed to avoid getting evicted from her home. That is, until a rare stroke of luck landed the turtles with an ill-gotten briefcase full of money accidentally taken from some defeated enemies. While his brothers began to debate over what to do with the money, Raph knew exactly where it should go. Instead of keeping it for themselves, Raph insisted on giving the money to Mrs. Morrison. He delivered the money to her himself, a rare and shameless smile on his face. There’s nothing in the world that could make Raph feel better than helping someone in need.
This leads into the story of another human who accidentally stumbled his way into Raphael’s life, a man who’s probably the most important of all-The one, the only… Casey Jones. Unlike the other humans in Raph’s life, Casey was far from weak and defenseless when they met. In fact, the guy was downright dangerous. The first time they met, Raph had to wrench him off of some thug before he could beat him to death. Needless to say the guy had issues, but they were issues Raph could relate to. It turns out Casey Jones was a man wronged by society, just like Raphael. He lost everything because of what the local gang, the Purple Dragons, did to his father’s store (and to his father, according to the quasi-canon Dreamwave comics) when he was a kid. Casey’s anger came from a place Raph was all too familiar with, and the man’s hatred made him lose himself to that rage. It made him go too far. Even Raph couldn’t agree with killing stupid punks just to prove a point. The guy had to be stopped, had to have some sense talked into him. And that was exactly what Raph planned to do.
After a quick alleyway brawl that left Raphael with nothing but a challenge and his own injured pride, he met Casey Jones in the park in another attempt at trying to talk some sense into the guy. Turns out they weren’t the only ones on the guest list when the Purple Dragons came to crash the party, looking for revenge. Together, Raph and Casey fought off the goons and Raph finally got his chance to give Casey his spiel about controlling his anger. This time, Casey listened, and he and Raph became fast friends. Casey provided Raph with another male role model to look up to (bad influence as he may be), and Raph gave Casey a reason to take responsibility for his actions and keep a lid on his rage.
But it’s funny that Raph wound up being the one lecturing about anger and control that day. Out of anyone in the series, it’s obvious that Raph is the least in control of his temper. In fact, just hours before he first ran into Casey Jones, Raph had nearly bashed Mikey’s head in because his brother was taunting him during a sparring match. Anything can set Raph off, and his moods can change like the weather. It’s gotten him into trouble more than once in his life, but almost killing Mikey is something he’ll never forget. In a way it served as a major wakeup call, opening his eyes to the fact he needed to change. But since Mike quickly forgave him and the issue was never really addressed, Raph was left with little knowledge as to how he should change. So while he may think twice before doing something like that again, Raph’s temper hasn’t improved as much as it could have if he had more help. But it’s possible that Raph’s anger is something his family has accepted as a part of him. Just a few episodes later, Raph is still shown to be flying off the handle during the Search for Splinter arcs, where the thought of his father off being hurt or tortured is enough to set his temper flaring out of control once again.
Though anger isn’t the only emotion that gets the better of Raph throughout the series. Many times it only serves as a mask for other emotions. But it isn’t until the Shredder Strikes Back arc that we’re shown the layers beneath everything Raph covers with his anger. As I’ve mentioned before, Raph and his brothers are extremely close. So when Leonardo arrives half beaten to death, thrown through April’s apartment window, Raph and his family had their lives completely upended. After having to flee the Shredder and his hoard of ninja come to eliminate the turtles for previously meddling with his evil plans, Raph and his family, along with April and Casey, escape to Casey’s mother’s farmhouse in Northampton. On the way, Leo quickly succumbed to his injuries and fell into a coma. The uncertainty as to whether he would live or die worried all of them gravely, but it was Raphael who seemed to be the most affected. In the beginning, Raph pushed away, accusing Leo of being too scared to face the failure of a losing battle, claimed he didn’t need his brother anyways. As always, anger became the default. But as time went on, and each of his family began to tell stories of their childhood in an attempt to rouse Leo, Raph’s walls finally came down. As he told his story, it became obvious that Raph really did need his brother for a heck of a lot more than he gives him credit for. And when the story was over, he was completely overtaken by his emotions. But this time, there was no room for anger. His defenses were down, and he couldn’t help the tears no matter how hard he tried. It’s the first and only time any of the turtles are shown crying, and it’s a testament to the amount of passion and raw emotion that lingers below the surface of Raphael’s bravado.
Another example of Raph showing his true heart comes shortly after Leonardo begins recovering from this ordeal. After staying at the farmhouse to rest and recover, it became obvious that Leo was taking his defeat at the hands of the Shredder hard. For Leonardo, that fight was enough to make him question everything he was as a ninja and a leader. As he sorted things through on his own, Leo took to moping in the farmhouse’s run-down barn, dwelling on his failures.
To say that Raph and Leo have a complicated relationship would be an understatement. Ever since they were youngsters, the two of them constantly bickered over gaining the position of clan leader. And when Leo was chosen over Raph, Raph couldn’t get over his jealousy. Up until this point in the series, it was commonplace for Raph and Leo to be at each other’s throats over leadership decisions. It seemed like no matter how hard Leo tried to lead, Raph would only rebel out of spite, taking matters into his own hands and leading them into dangerous situations just to go against Leo’s orders. But during the episodes following the Shredder Strikes Back arc (Tales of Leo, Monster Hunter) new light is shed not only upon Raph as a character, but also Raph’s relationship with Leo. During these two episodes, it becomes obvious that not only does Raph care deeply for his brother (as stated above), but also has a huge amount of respect for Leo both as a person and as a leader. So while they may fight a lot, it’s revealed that Raph and Leo actually share a very unique and caring brotherly bond.
As Leo brooded in the barn over his recent failures, it was Raph who came to his aid when he needed it most. It was Raph who curbed his brother’s anger and soothed his insecurities. It was Raph who was there to build him back up again. So together, they rebuilt Leo’s broken swords , in turn restoring Leo’s confidence in himself.
It’s hard to say if this was a turning point for Raph, reaching out beyond the petty quarrels to pull his brother back onto his feet again, or if the two turtles have always secretly shared this unspoken understanding from the beginning. I like to believe that throughout the course of the series, Raph slowly learned to understand Leo and respect him for who he is and what he does. After this episode, the two of them still have a lot of nasty disagreements, but it seems as though this was the first step toward Raph overcoming his jealousy and allowing himself to be led.
It isn’t until season four that a true sense of understanding is forged between Raph and Leo, again following in the wake of failure. It all began, just as before, with their archenemy the Shredder. This time, the turtles became aware of the Shredder’s plans to leave Earth via a ship he’d secretly built beneath the New York City streets. His plan was to return to his homeworld and seek revenge on the peace-loving Utroms, who had recently become the turtles’ alleys. (In earlier episodes the Shredder himself was revealed to be an Utrom terrorist parading around under the guise of Oroku Saki/ the Shredder.)
Determined to prevent what promised to be mass genocide on a planetary scale, the turtles and their friends snuck into the Shredder’s complex, planning sabotage the ship and prevent the Shredder from leaving Earth. Unfortunately, Turtle Luck was running true to form that day. They were soon discovered by Shredder and his adoptive daughter Karai, and they were forced to fight their way through the Shredder’s goons and cronies as the two made their escape. However, Splinter and the turtles managed to break free at the nick of time and stowaway in the ship just as it was launching.
But they couldn’t stop the Shredder from leaving Earth, and quickly found themselves running out of options. By now, the ship had already left the Earth’s atmosphere and there was no turning back. The Shredder was on a collision course for the Utrom Homeworld whether they liked it or not.
Then, Donatello had one last idea. If they overloaded the ship’s reactor, they could blow up the ship and stop the Shredder before he made it to the Homeworld. For the turtles and their father, it meant certain death, but to spare the lives of millions, they had to do what needed to be done.
Once they made their way to the reactor, they were stopped again by the Shredder himself, this time donned in a fierce alien combat suit and flanked by his daughter Karai. It would be a battle that held all their lives on the balance.
The fight was fierce and gruesome, leaving each of the turtles and their master seriously injured, the Shredder and Karai leaving them to their pain and dishonor. But that couldn’t keep them down for long. Not when countless innocent lives still depended on them. Battered and broken, the turtles managed to drag themselves back to the reactor where Donatello went through the motions that would be his family’s death. Seconds later, a massive explosion ripped through the ship and time stood still.
Literally. It turns out the Utroms had a new trick up their sleeve. After receiving word of the Shredder’s plans, some Utroms had come to intercept the ship, only to find it being torn to pieces by the exploding reactor. So, in an ultimately way too convenient networking ploy to never actually kill off characters, the Utroms managed to put the whole explosion in stasis and rescue all of the ship’s passengers, then brought them back to the Utrom Homeworld. There, Splinter and the turtles received medical attention and Shredder and Karai were forced to stand trial for their crimes, resulting in the Shredder being banished to an ice asteroid.
Still, things were far from over for the turtles. Back to the farmhouse the Hamato family went, giving them time to lick their wounds and recover from their recent trauma. But again, the recent events took the hardest toll on Leonardo. Though this time, no small gesture of brotherly love and encouragement was gonna pull him out of this one.
As time progressed and bodies healed, Leonardo became increasingly angry and sullen at his perceived failures, taking the full brunt of the blame for his family’s near death. And as Leo sunk lower into rage and self-loathing, Raphael saw for the first time how alike he and his brother truly are. I believe that once Raph became aware of the toll being leader has taken on Leo, he finally was able to let his jealousy go. In fact, he seemed almost sorry for Leo. Sure, he got a little miffed at Leo stealing his act. Sure, he thought he was overreacting. But Raph probably couldn’t chase out of his mind all the times he was in the same position. It was like looking into a mirror. For the first time in his life, he could genuinely relate to Leo, and it made him realize that his brother was far from perfect.
When Leo returns from his time regathering his sanity in Japan, Raph and Leo’s relationship seems to have changed drastically. After those episodes, they never have another screaming match. In fact, Raph seems to follow Leo without question. There’s no doubt that Leo wasn’t the only one who learned a great deal from the whole situation.
Eventually, things began to settle back into some semblance of normalcy. A few more people tried to kill them, Karai and an army of Foot ninja continued seeking revenge for the Shredder’s banishment, and another home was destroyed beyond repair, but really, it was nothing compared to what they’d experienced on Shredder’s ship. And it was nothing compared to what was yet to come.
The last arc of the series begins with a familiar villain by the name of Bishop, a crooked government agent with a rampant hate for nonhuman life, and Stockman, a mutilated mad scientist that once worked under the Shredder and had over the years cultivated his own hatred for the turtles and their master. Combine these two evils and you have a disaster waiting to happen. And happen it did. When a rapid-acting mutagen left over from the duo’s latest experiments with genetic manipulation leaked into the City’s sewer systems, all local wildlife was poisoned with a type of highly contagious blood-borne virus. Soon, bloodthirsty monsters mutated by the runoff were dominating the sewers and running amok through the New York City streets.
For a while, the primary focus was survival. The Outbreak was too big of a disaster for four turtles to manage. So the guys stayed near their home turf, battling the genetically-altered freaks to the best of their ability.
No one could have expected one of their own to become infected. After receiving a small injury during battle with one of the creatures, Raphael’s brother Donatello began demonstrating flu-like symptoms which were at first written off as a minor illness. But all concerns were thrown out the window when the turtles’ ally Renet, a Time Mistress in training, requested their help on a mission to the Cretaceous Era.
After becoming stranded in the past for three months of hostile dinosaurs and the most basic survival skills, Renet managed to transport them back to present day. But unfortunately, that sense of relief was brief. The Outbreak epidemic was still at large and Donatello’s illness hadn’t left him. In fact, it was only getting worse.
One night after dropping off a very sick Donatello at April’s apartment, the three remaining turtles headed out to battle some mutant creatures threatening the City’s major power supply. The battle itself was going well enough until Leonardo received a phone call from an obviously distraught April. The worst case scenario had happened. Now there was no question Don had been infected by the Outbreak, and had undergone a secondary mutation which rendered him a hulking, mindless beast.
With help from the turtles’ friend and fellow mutant, Leatherhead, they managed to get Don contained. But without Donatello’s genius to aid him, Leatherhead knew he couldn’t find a cure by himself, and Don’s condition would surely turn fatal if action wasn’t taken quickly.
So the turtles, Splinter, and Leatherhead were forced to make a deal with the devil-the very agent and scientist who created this disaster in the first place. But much as it pissed Raph off, the others were right. They had no other choice. He couldn’t just sit back and watch Don die. He had to do something for his brother and fast.
So they flew Donatello to Area 51, and Leatherhead began aiding Stockman in his search for the cure. It was no small task, and it required some shady dealings from both parties, but eventually, Don was cured and could be taken back home healthy, albeit a little worse for the wear.
The following days were spent ensuring Don got the rest and recuperation he deserved, and keeping an eye out for any signs of relapse. The whole situation had made the family understandably overprotective of Don’s health, even if it did get on Don’s nerves toward the end. But everyone seemed to be grateful for the air of normalcy.
That is, until Don finally convinced his brothers to let him go topside for some air. Within moments they were attacked by a band of faceless ninja who seemed to be made out of some kind of enchanted wood.
It’s the last thing Raph remembers before he blacked out. This is when I plan to have him arrive at Landel’s.
What point in time are you taking your character from when he/she appears at Landel's and why?:
I’ll be taking Raph from the very beginning of the first episode of the fifth season, just after he’s knocked unconscious by the mysterious wooden ninjas. Taking him from this point will allow me to start things off with a bang, adding some adrenaline to his disorientation upon arriving at Landel’s, and smoothing out the transition between his canon point and the game setting. It’ll also allow me to play Raph with all of his major character development. Thus, he’ll have a better acceptance of humans, a better understanding of his brother Leonardo, a heightened since of overproctectiveness toward his brother Dontallo, and will have made some positive steps toward controlling his temper. His only canonmate in Landel’s at the moment would be SAINW!Mike. Since Don likely didn’t tell his brothers about his trip into the dystopian future, Raph probably knows little to nothing about that version of Mike. Upon discovering who Mike is, Raph’s initial and strongest reaction will be disbelief, denial, and rejection.
Please give us a detailed description of your character's personality:
**Since I’ve covered most of his personality in the history section, this’ll just be a brief summary of what’s already been stated above.**
In Raph’s eyes, it’s a dog-eat-dog world out there, and he’s one of the big dogs. He talks tough, acts tough, and tries his damndest never to show fear. He makes it his personal duty to protect the weak and disadvantaged, no matter what the cost. And though he may be cynical, you’ll never see him sitting on his sorry butt, whining about it. You’ll see him take action and try to change the way of things the best he can. It may make him somewhat of a rebel, but he wouldn’t have it any other way.
Raph’s happiest when he’s doing something he feels is for the sake of the greater good, whether it’s improving himself or the world around him. Though often his perception of “the greater good” is warped, and things turn around to bite him in the ass, especially when he’s acting out of selfish reasons.
He knows he’s got a lot to improve, but sometimes, he just doesn’t know how. And you sure as hell won’t see him asking for help. That’d only tarnish his tough guy exterior.
But under all that armor and aggression, Raph really is a decent guy. He can be gentle, compassionate, fiercely loyal to those he trusts, and cares a lot about what other people think of him (though he’d never admit it). That “tough guy” façade is a lot like a building with a bad foundation. He tries so hard to appear callused that a lot of times he pushes people away when he needs them the most, leaving him to brood.
Raph’s blunt and brutal attitude means that people often have to read between the lines to know his true feelings. He tends to deflect, finding faults in others to counterbalance his own insecurities and release pent-up frustration. But it doesn’t necessarily mean he doesn’t like you. Raph just has a hard time trusting people. He would rather you fear him from a distance than know every detail and expose his weaknesses.
He’s also quite sarcastic and can be a big tease of the unnecessarily scathing kind. These comments should always be taken with a grain of salt because sometimes, that’s how Raph demonstrates affection.
The funny thing about Raph is that as much as he cares about the underdog, he can be quite a bully. So instead of actually making things better, he can make it a lot worse. This is the root of his self-loathing and a huge reason for his secret lack of confidence. Sometimes it seems as though the harder he tries to improve himself, the less people like him. He may pretend like he doesn’t care, but in truth, he might care a little too much.
Raph’s a very emotional person. Everything affects him strongly and deeply, and he can’t help reacting passionately when something rocks his core. Oftentimes, Raph loses complete control of his emotions, letting something that might be an admirable quality becomes his greatest flaw. This can cause him to become violent and impulsive, often throwing himself into dangerous situations before he can give himself a chance to think. Raph has a lot of frustration toward his inability to keep himself in check, leaving him to constantly question his mental health. But at the same time, Raph embraces his instability. It’s what lends him his berserker strength during battle, and he gets an incredible adrenaline rush from losing himself to rage.
Anger is the emotion Raph is most comfortable showing and what he tries the least to control. For him, anger is a safe emotion that keeps the other weaker, more painful feelings at bay. Almost everything else is buried under false bravado and defensive tactics he puts up to protect himself from his own weaknesses.
Strength of body and character is what Raph admires the most about himself, and he will sacrifice almost everything to maintain that image. Sadness, fear, uncertainty, insecurity, even love and affection are often buried under walls of aggression. And while Raph may sometimes drop the act in front of those he cares about, it can make him incredibly hard to relate to.
Unfortunately for Raph, these walls are all he knows and the only thing that makes him feel comfortable. He knows that someday he will need to get around them, but he just isn’t ready to make himself that vulnerable. Not yet.
Please give us a physical description of your character:
Raph’s most obvious physical characteristic would be the fact that he’s a giant talking humanoid turtle. This of course won’t be a factor in Landel’s, so I’ll be providing a description of the human body he will have in-game relative to his canon appearance.
In his human form, Raph will retain most of the short, stockiness he had as a turtle. He’ll be slightly taller than his 5’2” canon self, just for the sake of normal human averages. However, he’ll still be a rather unimpressive 5’6”. His build and physical prowess will remain the same, meaning he’ll have musculature even an amateur bodybuilder could envy.
Due to his relatively dark complexion in the cartoon, as a human, Raphael will appear to be of Hispanic or biracial origin. His skin, eyes, and hair will be dark. He will also be heavily scarred, bearing the marks from previous battles of another life. Most of the scars will be centered on his back, reminiscent of the damage his shell has taken over the years.
What kinds of otherworldly abilities does your character have, if any?:
Aside from the whole mutant turtle thing, most of the TMNT canon actually adheres to the natural laws of physics. Nothing about Raph’s abilities could be classified as “otherworldly”. All of his skills have been earned through a lifetime of grueling workouts and ninjitsu training. The only superhuman ability he displays in canon would be the amount of hits and death-defying falls he can take. I’d assume this is mostly due to his turtle physiology, so he will largely lose this ability in-game.
Does your character have any non-otherworldly abilities/training that surpass the norm?:
Ninjitsu. Practically since the day he could walk, his sensei put he and his brothers through hours of daily ninjitsu training. Compared to his brothers, Raphael’s fighting style is the sloppiest and slowest, focused more on results than form. He relies mostly on brute strength to get him through battles, getting in close and overpowering his enemies by sheer force. He’s the strongest of the four, and is constantly shown at his punching bag or lifting weights throughout the series.
Also, he’s a weapons expert and the most versatile of the four when it comes to variety of mastered weapons. He’s the most dexterous turtle with the best aim and the largest strength threshold, making him unrivaled in that aspect. His weapon of choice, the sai, is a testament to his impressive and well-rounded skill. It’s both bladed and non-bladed, defensive and offensive, with the versatility of a close-range combat weapon crossed with a throwing weapon. It’s unexpectedly heavy and requires an obscene amount of dexterity to handle, requiring the handler to constantly change his grip during combat.
What do you see your character doing in the scope of the game and how do you plan to use the setting of Landel's Institute to develop them and affect their psychology in a unique, interesting way?:
For a setting like this, my best canon guideline for predicting how Raph will react would be the Turtles in Space arc. In that series of episodes, Raph and his brothers are stuck on an alien planet and eventually wind up in a Tricereton prison. The entire time they were there, the turtles would stop at nothing to escape, no matter how difficult it might be. They were constantly plotting and searching for a way out, attacking their captors several times in an attempt at freedom. But Raph himself didn’t stop at just fighting the guards. During mealtime, he actually managed to pick a fight with a fellow inmate and got his ass thrown in solitary confinement for his poor behavior. Without his brothers to help keep his temper under wraps, I imagine incidences like this will be fairly common for him at Landel’s. Still, no matter what kind of punishment the Triceretons could dish out, nothing broke Raph’s spirit. Even a day locked in solitary couldn’t put a damper on his thirst for freedom. I believe this’ll also be a very common theme for Raph at the Institute.
When Raph firsts arrives at Landel’s, he’ll be on the attack. He will lash out at anyone within reach, and will try his damndest to escape every chance he gets. For the first week or so, he won’t sleep, he’ll be defensive and irritable as all hell, and he’ll more than likely get his ass drugged within the first hour.
Most of his aggression will come from a complete sense of disorientation. Raphael has never been around so many humans before, has very little experience with normal human social interaction, and will feel ridiculously vulnerable. Along with that, he will be in a completely alien body with totally different biology, mechanics, and center of gravity. Coping with that may take months, and he’ll never stop feeling like he’s wearing someone else’s skin. Lastly, being alone without his brothers to depend on will make him extremely cagey.
Everything he knows about himself and his world will be turned upside-down. Paranoia will be at an all-time high, making him incredibly likely to lash out and become violent or defensive. I expect a lot of fights to happen, not only with Landel’s employees, but also with fellow patients.
When he’ll calm down is up in the air. He’ll need to feel out who he can trust, and once he decides who he’ll be able to talk to, he may be able to get his bearings. He’ll be trying to gather as much information out of the other patients as he can. Depending on what he can get from them, he’ll eventually stop blindly lashing out and start using his head to make plans as to how to escape. Still, he’ll probably never stop being stubborn and rebelling against the Landel’s employees just for the sake of being a pain in the ass.
Mostly, I’m interested to see what effects Landel’s will have on Raph’s sanity and self-perception. He’s obviously not the sanest guy around, but I think everything will make him actually deeply question who and what he is. I’m also very interested in seeing his reaction to becoming human and having to interact normally with other humans. I’m also curious to see what he’ll do without his brothers and how well he can cope with something like this without them. But no matter what happens, there will be A LOT of adjustments to be made. Still, I strongly believe that no matter what Raph gets thrown his way, nothing will break his fighting spirit.
Given that this RP takes place in an unsettling and outright horrific environment, how do you justify your character as being appropriate in both body and mind for this kind of setting?:
Raph is definitely made of a lot tougher stuff than your average Joe. He’s stubborn as hell and will never stop fighting until he comes out on top. He will do anything and everything to escape and get some answers, and he won’t let anything stand in his way.
Raph’s reaction to fear is aggression. Don’t expect him to turn into some doe-eyed little lamb when the going gets tough. He laughs in the face of danger, and doesn’t mind risking his life if he has to. And while he may not be the soundest of mind, that instability is something Raph’s come to embrace about himself. Sometimes, it’s something he even enjoys. And while Landel’s will be testing his mental limits in every way possible, Raph is extremely resilient. He’s far too bull-headed to let anything drag him down for too long. He may be broody and unpleasant, but he can never be broken.
Gender: Female
Timezone: Eastern Standard Time (EST)
Personal LJ: willowslament
E-Mail: willowslament1@aim.com
AIM/other: willowslament1
Is English your primary language?: Yep
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Series: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2003 animated series)
Series' Medium: Cartoon
Character: Hamato Raphael
Age: . Roughly 18? I doubt even he knows for sure.
Sex/Gender: Male
Canon Role: He’s the "red oni" of the group, the second in command, the rebel and the anti-hero.
"Real" Name: Ralph Harmon
How long have you roleplayed your character, if at all?:
I began playing Raph in a prose-heavy fandom RP I ran known as The Undergrounds in the winter of 2008. That game ran about nine months until it fizzled. Afterward, I was enabled to pick him up again in LJ RP where I played him at Luceti from January 2010 to July 2011.
Please give us a personal history of your character's life and explain to us in detail how they grow and develop over the course of their canon:
It all began with a very familiar story; four pet turtles stranded in the sewers of New York, a canister of spilled mutagenic ooze, and the bizarre series of events that made the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles what they are today.
Raised by their similarly changed father and teacher Master Splinter, Raphael and his brothers lived a life cloaked in shadow far below the streets of New York. It wasn’t a bad childhood, from what Raph remembers. Yeah, they didn’t have a lot of things most kids had growing up, but when that’s the only thing you’ve ever known, it really isn’t so bad. He had no idea what he was missing. All he knows is that no matter how much his upbringing might have lacked, Raphael always had his family. That’s all he’ll ever need.
Growing up, his brothers were both his friends and playmates. They could entertain themselves for hours. And with no distractions like fancy toys or television, he and his brothers formed a bond so tight nothing can come between them. Raphael has grown up always having a brother within arm’s reach, always having someone to trust and lean on when he needs it most. And over time, he and his brothers have learned to balance one another’s personalities perfectly, each one compensating for the others’ strengths and weaknesses. But take any one brother out of the equation and you have a hole. It’s like amputating a limb. None of them can function anywhere near as well as they can as a team.
While Raphael may be characterized as the most independent brother, always determined to go off and do his own thing, it would be a gross misinterpretation to say he can function well without his brothers. He can survive, sure, but not without a heavy emotional toll. In fact, the creators of the canon claim that the very root of Raphael’s greatest personality flaw (his anger) is how alone he feels in the world, being one of only four of his kind. Because of this, Raph’s grown to become a defensive, broody, and incredibly angry young man.
These feelings of loneliness can be traced back to his childhood. Practically since the day they could walk, the turtles were taught the practice of ninjitsu, passed down from their sensei’s memories of his life as a pet rat in a cage, learning by mimicking his Master Yoshi’s movements. Splinter was always candid about his motivations behind the grueling training. From Raphael’s earliest memories, Splinter has groomed them to believe that practicing ninjitsu was a means of defending themselves from the hostilities of the world above. To Splinter, there was no questioning his sons would one day have to fight for their survival, that any human would eagerly kill them on sight. Every waking moment of Raph’s childhood was laced with his Master’s warnings of the evils that lurked above, the world of the bloodthirsty humans who filled his young mind with nightmares. As far as young Raphael was concerned, humans weren’t people, they were monsters.
But as the boys grew older, all of Splinter’s warnings became a constant hum in the background of everyday life, taken less seriously with each repetition. And by the time Raph hit his teenage years, the world above became less of a nightmare and more of a forbidden fruit. Yeah, living in the sewers worked for them, but Raphael craved more. His fighting spirit was way too wild to be cooped up underground for the rest of his life.
At the age of fifteen, the four brothers were forced to venture to the surface for the first time and curiosity quickly overrode the fear. After their home was destroyed by a hoard of savage robots, the turtles found themselves separated from their father by a collapsed sewer tunnel. The only way around was up, and Raph had no problem with that. He’d already started climbing the ladder before his brothers could think twice, and eagerly blazed a trail through the forbidden shadows. In that world above, Raphael found a type of freedom he’d never experienced before. It was exhilarating; all that fresh air and wide open space. Finally, he felt like he could breathe. But there was one small problem - the actual humans. While their world wasn’t the nightmarish landscape Splinter made it out to be, the turtles found the humans to be just as big a pain in the shell as their master had promised. It was just like Splinter said - people don’t understand how a five foot talking turtle can mean them no harm, so instead they’re afraid. Instead, they attack.
Then again, having four turtles jump at you from the shadows then make off with your loot would probably make anyone cranky. Raph learned a valuable lesson that day: Find better hiding places than the back of stolen armored cars, especially those belonging to gangsters. Unless you’re looking for a fight. Then you’ve got yourself one heck of a party.
From that day on, the turtles’ first exposure to humans has avalanched into a constant battle for survival. Not that this was a bad thing. All his life Raph wanted a chance not to just learn, but use Splinter’s teachings. He wanted to get in on the action, fight real battles. And the more the turtles got involved with the misdeeds of humans, the more Raph felt he was putting his master’s teachings to good use. Over time, he became the first to charge into battle, the first to stop talking and take action to solve his problems. This lead to a lot of disagreements between him and Splinter, and more notably, him and his brother Leonardo. Out of all of Raph’s brothers, Leo was the one who adhered the closest to Master Splinter’s teachings. And no matter what was going through Raphael’s head, he would never let his brother just charge into a situation on a whim. This lead to a few pretty nasty fights that became a reoccurring theme throughout the series.
As their run-in with local street gangs blossomed into a full-scale war against the evil Shredder and his clan of bloodthirsty ninja known as the Foot, the turtles faced a range of threats from your typical crooked street punk to high-ranking government agents bent on dissecting them in the name of science.
During these struggles, Raphael and his brothers began to learn more about the true nature of humanity. Raph quickly came to realize that not every human was a monster from his sensei’s stories. In fact, some of them had it pretty rough. Soon, Raphael’s eyes were open to the idea that humans didn’t just prey on people unlike them, they also preyed on each other. Raph learned to identify with these underdogs, the homeless, the naïve, the elderly, and just couldn’t hold onto his misconceptions.
To say that Raph has a soft spot for those weaker than him is an understatement. They seem to fill the void left behind from his feelings of loneliness. Just like him, these people know what it feels to struggle for everything they have. They know what it feels like to not have enough in a world of excess, to be persecuted and forgotten, to feel alone in the universe. These are the kind of people he tries to help every chance he gets. The most significant canon examples of this are April O’Neil, Mrs. Morrison, and Tyler.
April O’Neil was the first human to come into the turtles’ lives. In fact, she was the first human the turtles had ever come into contact with period. Saving her from the mechanical menaces known as the “Mousers”, the same robot hoard that had destroyed their home, meant they couldn’t just sit back and watch. Not only did they have a common enemy, but as much as the turtles distrusted humans, they couldn’t just let this defenseless woman die. So the woman was saved and brought back to the Lair. At first things were rocky, and Raph quickly lost his patience when she wouldn’t stop freaking out. But eventually, April came to her senses and struck up a friendship with the turtles that saved her life. And while Raph may not be personally close to April, he’s glad they saved her that day. Not only did April introduce a completely different side of humanity into the turtles’ lives, it made them believe that somewhere out there, there were people willing to accept them for who they are. Still, Raphael holds tight to his anger at the injustices of his lot in life, but the knowledge that there are people like April out there keep him from completely hating the world.
The episode with Tyler is one of the most defining episodes for Raphael’s character. Raph found Tyler, a kid about the age of seven, hiding from a bunch of mob goons in an alleyway. Knowing he couldn’t just walk away from something like that, Raph stayed and watched as Tyler tried to hide from the mobsters until he was found and dragged back into their clutches. Filled with well-justified rage at the mobsters’ gall, he risked everything by jumping to the kid’s aid, exposing himself to attack the goons and protect the kid from whatever trouble he was in. Soon, one fight turned into a mission to save the kid’s mother from the mob boss himself, during which Raph risked not only his own life and limb, but valuable time searching for his then missing father to help someone weaker than himself. Even temporary blindness couldn’t keep him from fighting the goons and reuniting the boy with his mother again.
The episode with Mrs. Morrison was yet another of Raph’s defining episode. Again, he and Mrs. Morrison met completely by accident. This time, Raph was the one who was running from a lynch mob of people thinking he was an alien left over from the recent invasion of New York by the Triceretons. Luckily, Mrs. Morrison was blind and mistook Raphael for a helpful neighbor boy come to help her move her things out of her apartment. Unable to expose himself, Raph played along with the old lady the best he could, and even came back to help and visit her later on. He loved how Mrs. Morrison treated him like he was a normal. It was refreshingly alien to be told to hurry home on a school night, or sit chatting over tea without any strange looks. When he learned about Mrs. Morrison’s financial troubles after the death of her husband, Raph couldn’t help feeling sorry for her, but had no way of helping her. His family was even poorer than she was. He had no way of getting the money she needed to avoid getting evicted from her home. That is, until a rare stroke of luck landed the turtles with an ill-gotten briefcase full of money accidentally taken from some defeated enemies. While his brothers began to debate over what to do with the money, Raph knew exactly where it should go. Instead of keeping it for themselves, Raph insisted on giving the money to Mrs. Morrison. He delivered the money to her himself, a rare and shameless smile on his face. There’s nothing in the world that could make Raph feel better than helping someone in need.
This leads into the story of another human who accidentally stumbled his way into Raphael’s life, a man who’s probably the most important of all-The one, the only… Casey Jones. Unlike the other humans in Raph’s life, Casey was far from weak and defenseless when they met. In fact, the guy was downright dangerous. The first time they met, Raph had to wrench him off of some thug before he could beat him to death. Needless to say the guy had issues, but they were issues Raph could relate to. It turns out Casey Jones was a man wronged by society, just like Raphael. He lost everything because of what the local gang, the Purple Dragons, did to his father’s store (and to his father, according to the quasi-canon Dreamwave comics) when he was a kid. Casey’s anger came from a place Raph was all too familiar with, and the man’s hatred made him lose himself to that rage. It made him go too far. Even Raph couldn’t agree with killing stupid punks just to prove a point. The guy had to be stopped, had to have some sense talked into him. And that was exactly what Raph planned to do.
After a quick alleyway brawl that left Raphael with nothing but a challenge and his own injured pride, he met Casey Jones in the park in another attempt at trying to talk some sense into the guy. Turns out they weren’t the only ones on the guest list when the Purple Dragons came to crash the party, looking for revenge. Together, Raph and Casey fought off the goons and Raph finally got his chance to give Casey his spiel about controlling his anger. This time, Casey listened, and he and Raph became fast friends. Casey provided Raph with another male role model to look up to (bad influence as he may be), and Raph gave Casey a reason to take responsibility for his actions and keep a lid on his rage.
But it’s funny that Raph wound up being the one lecturing about anger and control that day. Out of anyone in the series, it’s obvious that Raph is the least in control of his temper. In fact, just hours before he first ran into Casey Jones, Raph had nearly bashed Mikey’s head in because his brother was taunting him during a sparring match. Anything can set Raph off, and his moods can change like the weather. It’s gotten him into trouble more than once in his life, but almost killing Mikey is something he’ll never forget. In a way it served as a major wakeup call, opening his eyes to the fact he needed to change. But since Mike quickly forgave him and the issue was never really addressed, Raph was left with little knowledge as to how he should change. So while he may think twice before doing something like that again, Raph’s temper hasn’t improved as much as it could have if he had more help. But it’s possible that Raph’s anger is something his family has accepted as a part of him. Just a few episodes later, Raph is still shown to be flying off the handle during the Search for Splinter arcs, where the thought of his father off being hurt or tortured is enough to set his temper flaring out of control once again.
Though anger isn’t the only emotion that gets the better of Raph throughout the series. Many times it only serves as a mask for other emotions. But it isn’t until the Shredder Strikes Back arc that we’re shown the layers beneath everything Raph covers with his anger. As I’ve mentioned before, Raph and his brothers are extremely close. So when Leonardo arrives half beaten to death, thrown through April’s apartment window, Raph and his family had their lives completely upended. After having to flee the Shredder and his hoard of ninja come to eliminate the turtles for previously meddling with his evil plans, Raph and his family, along with April and Casey, escape to Casey’s mother’s farmhouse in Northampton. On the way, Leo quickly succumbed to his injuries and fell into a coma. The uncertainty as to whether he would live or die worried all of them gravely, but it was Raphael who seemed to be the most affected. In the beginning, Raph pushed away, accusing Leo of being too scared to face the failure of a losing battle, claimed he didn’t need his brother anyways. As always, anger became the default. But as time went on, and each of his family began to tell stories of their childhood in an attempt to rouse Leo, Raph’s walls finally came down. As he told his story, it became obvious that Raph really did need his brother for a heck of a lot more than he gives him credit for. And when the story was over, he was completely overtaken by his emotions. But this time, there was no room for anger. His defenses were down, and he couldn’t help the tears no matter how hard he tried. It’s the first and only time any of the turtles are shown crying, and it’s a testament to the amount of passion and raw emotion that lingers below the surface of Raphael’s bravado.
Another example of Raph showing his true heart comes shortly after Leonardo begins recovering from this ordeal. After staying at the farmhouse to rest and recover, it became obvious that Leo was taking his defeat at the hands of the Shredder hard. For Leonardo, that fight was enough to make him question everything he was as a ninja and a leader. As he sorted things through on his own, Leo took to moping in the farmhouse’s run-down barn, dwelling on his failures.
To say that Raph and Leo have a complicated relationship would be an understatement. Ever since they were youngsters, the two of them constantly bickered over gaining the position of clan leader. And when Leo was chosen over Raph, Raph couldn’t get over his jealousy. Up until this point in the series, it was commonplace for Raph and Leo to be at each other’s throats over leadership decisions. It seemed like no matter how hard Leo tried to lead, Raph would only rebel out of spite, taking matters into his own hands and leading them into dangerous situations just to go against Leo’s orders. But during the episodes following the Shredder Strikes Back arc (Tales of Leo, Monster Hunter) new light is shed not only upon Raph as a character, but also Raph’s relationship with Leo. During these two episodes, it becomes obvious that not only does Raph care deeply for his brother (as stated above), but also has a huge amount of respect for Leo both as a person and as a leader. So while they may fight a lot, it’s revealed that Raph and Leo actually share a very unique and caring brotherly bond.
As Leo brooded in the barn over his recent failures, it was Raph who came to his aid when he needed it most. It was Raph who curbed his brother’s anger and soothed his insecurities. It was Raph who was there to build him back up again. So together, they rebuilt Leo’s broken swords , in turn restoring Leo’s confidence in himself.
It’s hard to say if this was a turning point for Raph, reaching out beyond the petty quarrels to pull his brother back onto his feet again, or if the two turtles have always secretly shared this unspoken understanding from the beginning. I like to believe that throughout the course of the series, Raph slowly learned to understand Leo and respect him for who he is and what he does. After this episode, the two of them still have a lot of nasty disagreements, but it seems as though this was the first step toward Raph overcoming his jealousy and allowing himself to be led.
It isn’t until season four that a true sense of understanding is forged between Raph and Leo, again following in the wake of failure. It all began, just as before, with their archenemy the Shredder. This time, the turtles became aware of the Shredder’s plans to leave Earth via a ship he’d secretly built beneath the New York City streets. His plan was to return to his homeworld and seek revenge on the peace-loving Utroms, who had recently become the turtles’ alleys. (In earlier episodes the Shredder himself was revealed to be an Utrom terrorist parading around under the guise of Oroku Saki/ the Shredder.)
Determined to prevent what promised to be mass genocide on a planetary scale, the turtles and their friends snuck into the Shredder’s complex, planning sabotage the ship and prevent the Shredder from leaving Earth. Unfortunately, Turtle Luck was running true to form that day. They were soon discovered by Shredder and his adoptive daughter Karai, and they were forced to fight their way through the Shredder’s goons and cronies as the two made their escape. However, Splinter and the turtles managed to break free at the nick of time and stowaway in the ship just as it was launching.
But they couldn’t stop the Shredder from leaving Earth, and quickly found themselves running out of options. By now, the ship had already left the Earth’s atmosphere and there was no turning back. The Shredder was on a collision course for the Utrom Homeworld whether they liked it or not.
Then, Donatello had one last idea. If they overloaded the ship’s reactor, they could blow up the ship and stop the Shredder before he made it to the Homeworld. For the turtles and their father, it meant certain death, but to spare the lives of millions, they had to do what needed to be done.
Once they made their way to the reactor, they were stopped again by the Shredder himself, this time donned in a fierce alien combat suit and flanked by his daughter Karai. It would be a battle that held all their lives on the balance.
The fight was fierce and gruesome, leaving each of the turtles and their master seriously injured, the Shredder and Karai leaving them to their pain and dishonor. But that couldn’t keep them down for long. Not when countless innocent lives still depended on them. Battered and broken, the turtles managed to drag themselves back to the reactor where Donatello went through the motions that would be his family’s death. Seconds later, a massive explosion ripped through the ship and time stood still.
Literally. It turns out the Utroms had a new trick up their sleeve. After receiving word of the Shredder’s plans, some Utroms had come to intercept the ship, only to find it being torn to pieces by the exploding reactor. So, in an ultimately way too convenient networking ploy to never actually kill off characters, the Utroms managed to put the whole explosion in stasis and rescue all of the ship’s passengers, then brought them back to the Utrom Homeworld. There, Splinter and the turtles received medical attention and Shredder and Karai were forced to stand trial for their crimes, resulting in the Shredder being banished to an ice asteroid.
Still, things were far from over for the turtles. Back to the farmhouse the Hamato family went, giving them time to lick their wounds and recover from their recent trauma. But again, the recent events took the hardest toll on Leonardo. Though this time, no small gesture of brotherly love and encouragement was gonna pull him out of this one.
As time progressed and bodies healed, Leonardo became increasingly angry and sullen at his perceived failures, taking the full brunt of the blame for his family’s near death. And as Leo sunk lower into rage and self-loathing, Raphael saw for the first time how alike he and his brother truly are. I believe that once Raph became aware of the toll being leader has taken on Leo, he finally was able to let his jealousy go. In fact, he seemed almost sorry for Leo. Sure, he got a little miffed at Leo stealing his act. Sure, he thought he was overreacting. But Raph probably couldn’t chase out of his mind all the times he was in the same position. It was like looking into a mirror. For the first time in his life, he could genuinely relate to Leo, and it made him realize that his brother was far from perfect.
When Leo returns from his time regathering his sanity in Japan, Raph and Leo’s relationship seems to have changed drastically. After those episodes, they never have another screaming match. In fact, Raph seems to follow Leo without question. There’s no doubt that Leo wasn’t the only one who learned a great deal from the whole situation.
Eventually, things began to settle back into some semblance of normalcy. A few more people tried to kill them, Karai and an army of Foot ninja continued seeking revenge for the Shredder’s banishment, and another home was destroyed beyond repair, but really, it was nothing compared to what they’d experienced on Shredder’s ship. And it was nothing compared to what was yet to come.
The last arc of the series begins with a familiar villain by the name of Bishop, a crooked government agent with a rampant hate for nonhuman life, and Stockman, a mutilated mad scientist that once worked under the Shredder and had over the years cultivated his own hatred for the turtles and their master. Combine these two evils and you have a disaster waiting to happen. And happen it did. When a rapid-acting mutagen left over from the duo’s latest experiments with genetic manipulation leaked into the City’s sewer systems, all local wildlife was poisoned with a type of highly contagious blood-borne virus. Soon, bloodthirsty monsters mutated by the runoff were dominating the sewers and running amok through the New York City streets.
For a while, the primary focus was survival. The Outbreak was too big of a disaster for four turtles to manage. So the guys stayed near their home turf, battling the genetically-altered freaks to the best of their ability.
No one could have expected one of their own to become infected. After receiving a small injury during battle with one of the creatures, Raphael’s brother Donatello began demonstrating flu-like symptoms which were at first written off as a minor illness. But all concerns were thrown out the window when the turtles’ ally Renet, a Time Mistress in training, requested their help on a mission to the Cretaceous Era.
After becoming stranded in the past for three months of hostile dinosaurs and the most basic survival skills, Renet managed to transport them back to present day. But unfortunately, that sense of relief was brief. The Outbreak epidemic was still at large and Donatello’s illness hadn’t left him. In fact, it was only getting worse.
One night after dropping off a very sick Donatello at April’s apartment, the three remaining turtles headed out to battle some mutant creatures threatening the City’s major power supply. The battle itself was going well enough until Leonardo received a phone call from an obviously distraught April. The worst case scenario had happened. Now there was no question Don had been infected by the Outbreak, and had undergone a secondary mutation which rendered him a hulking, mindless beast.
With help from the turtles’ friend and fellow mutant, Leatherhead, they managed to get Don contained. But without Donatello’s genius to aid him, Leatherhead knew he couldn’t find a cure by himself, and Don’s condition would surely turn fatal if action wasn’t taken quickly.
So the turtles, Splinter, and Leatherhead were forced to make a deal with the devil-the very agent and scientist who created this disaster in the first place. But much as it pissed Raph off, the others were right. They had no other choice. He couldn’t just sit back and watch Don die. He had to do something for his brother and fast.
So they flew Donatello to Area 51, and Leatherhead began aiding Stockman in his search for the cure. It was no small task, and it required some shady dealings from both parties, but eventually, Don was cured and could be taken back home healthy, albeit a little worse for the wear.
The following days were spent ensuring Don got the rest and recuperation he deserved, and keeping an eye out for any signs of relapse. The whole situation had made the family understandably overprotective of Don’s health, even if it did get on Don’s nerves toward the end. But everyone seemed to be grateful for the air of normalcy.
That is, until Don finally convinced his brothers to let him go topside for some air. Within moments they were attacked by a band of faceless ninja who seemed to be made out of some kind of enchanted wood.
It’s the last thing Raph remembers before he blacked out. This is when I plan to have him arrive at Landel’s.
What point in time are you taking your character from when he/she appears at Landel's and why?:
I’ll be taking Raph from the very beginning of the first episode of the fifth season, just after he’s knocked unconscious by the mysterious wooden ninjas. Taking him from this point will allow me to start things off with a bang, adding some adrenaline to his disorientation upon arriving at Landel’s, and smoothing out the transition between his canon point and the game setting. It’ll also allow me to play Raph with all of his major character development. Thus, he’ll have a better acceptance of humans, a better understanding of his brother Leonardo, a heightened since of overproctectiveness toward his brother Dontallo, and will have made some positive steps toward controlling his temper. His only canonmate in Landel’s at the moment would be SAINW!Mike. Since Don likely didn’t tell his brothers about his trip into the dystopian future, Raph probably knows little to nothing about that version of Mike. Upon discovering who Mike is, Raph’s initial and strongest reaction will be disbelief, denial, and rejection.
Please give us a detailed description of your character's personality:
**Since I’ve covered most of his personality in the history section, this’ll just be a brief summary of what’s already been stated above.**
In Raph’s eyes, it’s a dog-eat-dog world out there, and he’s one of the big dogs. He talks tough, acts tough, and tries his damndest never to show fear. He makes it his personal duty to protect the weak and disadvantaged, no matter what the cost. And though he may be cynical, you’ll never see him sitting on his sorry butt, whining about it. You’ll see him take action and try to change the way of things the best he can. It may make him somewhat of a rebel, but he wouldn’t have it any other way.
Raph’s happiest when he’s doing something he feels is for the sake of the greater good, whether it’s improving himself or the world around him. Though often his perception of “the greater good” is warped, and things turn around to bite him in the ass, especially when he’s acting out of selfish reasons.
He knows he’s got a lot to improve, but sometimes, he just doesn’t know how. And you sure as hell won’t see him asking for help. That’d only tarnish his tough guy exterior.
But under all that armor and aggression, Raph really is a decent guy. He can be gentle, compassionate, fiercely loyal to those he trusts, and cares a lot about what other people think of him (though he’d never admit it). That “tough guy” façade is a lot like a building with a bad foundation. He tries so hard to appear callused that a lot of times he pushes people away when he needs them the most, leaving him to brood.
Raph’s blunt and brutal attitude means that people often have to read between the lines to know his true feelings. He tends to deflect, finding faults in others to counterbalance his own insecurities and release pent-up frustration. But it doesn’t necessarily mean he doesn’t like you. Raph just has a hard time trusting people. He would rather you fear him from a distance than know every detail and expose his weaknesses.
He’s also quite sarcastic and can be a big tease of the unnecessarily scathing kind. These comments should always be taken with a grain of salt because sometimes, that’s how Raph demonstrates affection.
The funny thing about Raph is that as much as he cares about the underdog, he can be quite a bully. So instead of actually making things better, he can make it a lot worse. This is the root of his self-loathing and a huge reason for his secret lack of confidence. Sometimes it seems as though the harder he tries to improve himself, the less people like him. He may pretend like he doesn’t care, but in truth, he might care a little too much.
Raph’s a very emotional person. Everything affects him strongly and deeply, and he can’t help reacting passionately when something rocks his core. Oftentimes, Raph loses complete control of his emotions, letting something that might be an admirable quality becomes his greatest flaw. This can cause him to become violent and impulsive, often throwing himself into dangerous situations before he can give himself a chance to think. Raph has a lot of frustration toward his inability to keep himself in check, leaving him to constantly question his mental health. But at the same time, Raph embraces his instability. It’s what lends him his berserker strength during battle, and he gets an incredible adrenaline rush from losing himself to rage.
Anger is the emotion Raph is most comfortable showing and what he tries the least to control. For him, anger is a safe emotion that keeps the other weaker, more painful feelings at bay. Almost everything else is buried under false bravado and defensive tactics he puts up to protect himself from his own weaknesses.
Strength of body and character is what Raph admires the most about himself, and he will sacrifice almost everything to maintain that image. Sadness, fear, uncertainty, insecurity, even love and affection are often buried under walls of aggression. And while Raph may sometimes drop the act in front of those he cares about, it can make him incredibly hard to relate to.
Unfortunately for Raph, these walls are all he knows and the only thing that makes him feel comfortable. He knows that someday he will need to get around them, but he just isn’t ready to make himself that vulnerable. Not yet.
Please give us a physical description of your character:
Raph’s most obvious physical characteristic would be the fact that he’s a giant talking humanoid turtle. This of course won’t be a factor in Landel’s, so I’ll be providing a description of the human body he will have in-game relative to his canon appearance.
In his human form, Raph will retain most of the short, stockiness he had as a turtle. He’ll be slightly taller than his 5’2” canon self, just for the sake of normal human averages. However, he’ll still be a rather unimpressive 5’6”. His build and physical prowess will remain the same, meaning he’ll have musculature even an amateur bodybuilder could envy.
Due to his relatively dark complexion in the cartoon, as a human, Raphael will appear to be of Hispanic or biracial origin. His skin, eyes, and hair will be dark. He will also be heavily scarred, bearing the marks from previous battles of another life. Most of the scars will be centered on his back, reminiscent of the damage his shell has taken over the years.
What kinds of otherworldly abilities does your character have, if any?:
Aside from the whole mutant turtle thing, most of the TMNT canon actually adheres to the natural laws of physics. Nothing about Raph’s abilities could be classified as “otherworldly”. All of his skills have been earned through a lifetime of grueling workouts and ninjitsu training. The only superhuman ability he displays in canon would be the amount of hits and death-defying falls he can take. I’d assume this is mostly due to his turtle physiology, so he will largely lose this ability in-game.
Does your character have any non-otherworldly abilities/training that surpass the norm?:
Ninjitsu. Practically since the day he could walk, his sensei put he and his brothers through hours of daily ninjitsu training. Compared to his brothers, Raphael’s fighting style is the sloppiest and slowest, focused more on results than form. He relies mostly on brute strength to get him through battles, getting in close and overpowering his enemies by sheer force. He’s the strongest of the four, and is constantly shown at his punching bag or lifting weights throughout the series.
Also, he’s a weapons expert and the most versatile of the four when it comes to variety of mastered weapons. He’s the most dexterous turtle with the best aim and the largest strength threshold, making him unrivaled in that aspect. His weapon of choice, the sai, is a testament to his impressive and well-rounded skill. It’s both bladed and non-bladed, defensive and offensive, with the versatility of a close-range combat weapon crossed with a throwing weapon. It’s unexpectedly heavy and requires an obscene amount of dexterity to handle, requiring the handler to constantly change his grip during combat.
What do you see your character doing in the scope of the game and how do you plan to use the setting of Landel's Institute to develop them and affect their psychology in a unique, interesting way?:
For a setting like this, my best canon guideline for predicting how Raph will react would be the Turtles in Space arc. In that series of episodes, Raph and his brothers are stuck on an alien planet and eventually wind up in a Tricereton prison. The entire time they were there, the turtles would stop at nothing to escape, no matter how difficult it might be. They were constantly plotting and searching for a way out, attacking their captors several times in an attempt at freedom. But Raph himself didn’t stop at just fighting the guards. During mealtime, he actually managed to pick a fight with a fellow inmate and got his ass thrown in solitary confinement for his poor behavior. Without his brothers to help keep his temper under wraps, I imagine incidences like this will be fairly common for him at Landel’s. Still, no matter what kind of punishment the Triceretons could dish out, nothing broke Raph’s spirit. Even a day locked in solitary couldn’t put a damper on his thirst for freedom. I believe this’ll also be a very common theme for Raph at the Institute.
When Raph firsts arrives at Landel’s, he’ll be on the attack. He will lash out at anyone within reach, and will try his damndest to escape every chance he gets. For the first week or so, he won’t sleep, he’ll be defensive and irritable as all hell, and he’ll more than likely get his ass drugged within the first hour.
Most of his aggression will come from a complete sense of disorientation. Raphael has never been around so many humans before, has very little experience with normal human social interaction, and will feel ridiculously vulnerable. Along with that, he will be in a completely alien body with totally different biology, mechanics, and center of gravity. Coping with that may take months, and he’ll never stop feeling like he’s wearing someone else’s skin. Lastly, being alone without his brothers to depend on will make him extremely cagey.
Everything he knows about himself and his world will be turned upside-down. Paranoia will be at an all-time high, making him incredibly likely to lash out and become violent or defensive. I expect a lot of fights to happen, not only with Landel’s employees, but also with fellow patients.
When he’ll calm down is up in the air. He’ll need to feel out who he can trust, and once he decides who he’ll be able to talk to, he may be able to get his bearings. He’ll be trying to gather as much information out of the other patients as he can. Depending on what he can get from them, he’ll eventually stop blindly lashing out and start using his head to make plans as to how to escape. Still, he’ll probably never stop being stubborn and rebelling against the Landel’s employees just for the sake of being a pain in the ass.
Mostly, I’m interested to see what effects Landel’s will have on Raph’s sanity and self-perception. He’s obviously not the sanest guy around, but I think everything will make him actually deeply question who and what he is. I’m also very interested in seeing his reaction to becoming human and having to interact normally with other humans. I’m also curious to see what he’ll do without his brothers and how well he can cope with something like this without them. But no matter what happens, there will be A LOT of adjustments to be made. Still, I strongly believe that no matter what Raph gets thrown his way, nothing will break his fighting spirit.
Given that this RP takes place in an unsettling and outright horrific environment, how do you justify your character as being appropriate in both body and mind for this kind of setting?:
Raph is definitely made of a lot tougher stuff than your average Joe. He’s stubborn as hell and will never stop fighting until he comes out on top. He will do anything and everything to escape and get some answers, and he won’t let anything stand in his way.
Raph’s reaction to fear is aggression. Don’t expect him to turn into some doe-eyed little lamb when the going gets tough. He laughs in the face of danger, and doesn’t mind risking his life if he has to. And while he may not be the soundest of mind, that instability is something Raph’s come to embrace about himself. Sometimes, it’s something he even enjoys. And while Landel’s will be testing his mental limits in every way possible, Raph is extremely resilient. He’s far too bull-headed to let anything drag him down for too long. He may be broody and unpleasant, but he can never be broken.