Dona Au - Blog Posts

THEY ARE SOOOO CUTE

Causal Caseytello (Dona AU)

Part 2 to THIS ASK because it was getting very long and it was filled to the brim with two very deep topics. The questions from the Asks are taken straight here to be judged as anyone so pleases.

"For the Dona AU, does anything change with the China Town episode with the spirit guy or the episode during the farmhouse arc with the demon car?"

Well for one thing, I JUST REALIZED THAT I CAN MAKE THIS REWRITE CANON SO- UH- YEAH. A LITTLE BIT OF ALTERATION TO THE CHINA TOWN STORY. SIBLING LOVE FOR THE WIN!

Ykw fine. We gonna do some causal Caseytello.

The beginning of the episode is Casey is trying to show off and Donnie gets frustrated because she thinks Casey is mocking her kunoichi abilities. April snaps at them because they won't stop bickering, Casey offers an 'apology hug' but Donnie stomps off to pout at the edge of a roof. Where she (happily) spots the Purple Dragons. Letting her friends know, she hurries down to face them.

Casey (not getting the hint) CONTINUES to be a show-off and Donnie fights back with the same brash attitude. They end up letting the Purple Dragons get away and April is ticked at them. Donnie fails to apologize and tries to blame Casey. Neither takes responsibility.

Later, after her brothers get taken and they develop a plan, Casey and Donnie do their research. Then they go on a ✨rescue mission✨

The rest of the episode goes on as canon.

The first few episodes at the farmhouse are just them getting closer and THEN comes Race With The Demon. Starts out with an argument, they get run off the road, go to the farmhouse, tell the story, and Donnie complains of pain. CASEY, looking guilty, offers the massage, which has everyone giving him a baffled look as Donnie’s like, “NO?? Obvs no?? Don’t touch me you weirdo???” and then she makes a dismissive comment about repairing his dents in the Party Wagon as she leaves the room, rubbing her neck.

Then we find them chilling in the barn, alphabetically insulting each other as friendemies do. They work on the car, test the car, Casey wrecks the car (&saves an old lady, respect). He makes a comment like “Donnie’s gonna kill me,” and then when Donnie shows up, she’s more upset about the fact that he ditched her than anything else.

They get back to the farmhouse, eventually meet in the barn, and Casey awkwardly apologizes for leaving her behind. She tries to dismiss him but he pleads for her and her “sweet scientific genius.” Her beak reddens but she pushes his face away, nonchalant as she agrees to try out a “crazy, awesome idea.”

✨They build and drink coffee together like friendos ✨

Insert the VIP of the farmhouse arc: DR CLUCKINGSWORTH. M.D.

Then we introduce The Turtleracer. Head on the road. And take on the Speed Demon! (Where Casey actually follows the plan, shocking)

Donnie jumps on a speeding car, because these children are both apparently adrenaline junkies, and tears the human out.

AND THEN- OH NOOO- SHE GETS EATEN!!

And Casey. Is. Not. Having. It.

So they race! And fight! And Casey, realizing that he’s going to lose, furiously declares, “I don’t care about winning! I just want her back!” And furiously tears Donnie out of the car.

Donnie goes back to normal, Casey quickly runs over to assist her to her feet with an arm around her shoulder, and then asks if she’s okay. She says that she is and they get about two seconds to stare softly into each other’s eyes before Speed Demon runs at them.

Donnie quickly shoves Casey out of Speed Demon’s way, and then stabs into it’s maw with a vengeful, “You leave him alone!”

They hit the ground, the others ram the PartyWagon off the cliff, and victory is scored! No problems here, right? (No. Forget that)

Donnie, who was JUST demutated, fails to stand once on her feet. Casey catches her, she shakily blames it on the adrenaline loss, and then repeats the sentiment to the worried group running over. Casey dismisses the weakness topic entirely and get a conversation going about how awesome their plan was. Donnie lights up and they both begin rambling, neither noticing the way that Casey’s arm is still snuggly around her shell.

Then audience gets to see Raph and April exchange a widely fandom-interpreted Look before the black and white scene appears.

I want this to be the A Foot To Big scene that the audience ABSOLUTELY HATES because they go back to friendemies after this. There are definitely little moments where they’re fluffy and crushing for a while, but nothing super serious happens.

There’s a definite amount of crushing for the rest of the series but neither makes a real move. UNTIL!!

The Power Inside of Her. And if it’s not obvious why, then I’m going to need you to watch the episodes again cause that’s a big one.

Donnie becomes blue sparkles!! And Casey’s there to watch it!!

And now he’s depressed! Because Donnie’s dead and now they have to kill his human bestie! And when she runs at Raph (because he’s pretty insistent that she die, RIP Angry Man), Casey stands in the way and begs, “Remember Donnie!”

And it works! Yay!!

And now we move onto Tokka vs. The World where the brothers are like “I dunno maybe Donnie should sit this one out” and Donnie takes great offense and shoves her way into the field with Casey’s support, though he’s pretty “if you make us separate I will end your life.” And then Leo DOES tell him&Mikey to separate and Casey throws his mini fit. Then Donnie gives him a meaningful look and he’s like “But what about you?” and Donnie insists that she can take care of herself, to which he reluctantly agrees, and she pleas with him to stay with Mikey. Locked under her sadorable gaze, Casey gives in with a grumbled, “Only if you promise not to be stupid” to which she mockingly replies, “C’mon, Jones, it’s me we’re talking about”.

She runs off with Leo and doesn’t notice his subdued gaze following her down the hall. Mikey looks between them with squinty eyes and a loud, “Hmmm.” Casey, catching his stare, quickly begins loudly complaining about being left behind. They get caught.

*insert the events of the episode*

Then we go to The Tale of Tiger Claw. Episode events progress. Casey is warned. Donnie looks very, very worried in the background.

She tells him to take the premonition seriously.

He replies that “he’s not afraid of any dumb ol’ vision.”

She’s not satisfied but she lets it’s slide.

Insert the girls in the lab. Leo says they gonna do patrol, designates teams, but everyone’s surprised when Casey asks to be paired with Donnie. Leo looks at Donnie, Donnie gives a confused shrug, and then Leo tells him to stick with Raph. Instead of the discussion between Mikey&Leo, it spans to Raph&Casey.

They’re chillin’ in an alley as Raph side-eyes the vigilante. Casey notices and demands, “What?”

Raph asks, “So what’s up between you and Donnie?”

“Nothin’.” Looking concerned, he asks, “Why? Did she say something?”

“It’s not about what she’s saying. It’s about what you’re not saying.”

Evidently uncomfy, he causally drawls, “You totally lost me.”

“Look, man, are you going to ask her out or what?”

To which Casey jolts and falls backward into the Turtleracer with a frantic kind of “HUH?!”

The question never gets answered because Leo alerts them to the incoming danger and the conversation is dropped for a chase scene. They fight Alopex, Casey gets scratched, Tiger Claw vs Alopex fight, and then they regroup and Casey almost gets crushed.

They head back to the lair and Casey is shown to be very carefully not looking at Raph as they learn more about the curse. When Casey makes the comment about getting kissed poisoned by Karai, Donnie glowers as she puts out the fire behind him. Splinter tells them all how to break the curse and they head out.

They head off to find her, the van gets hit, and Raph chides Casey for it. Donnie immediately stands and reminds him why he needs to be there to break the curse and Casey chimes in with a firm, “So back off me, brah!” With both of them glaring him down, Raph puts up his hands in surrender.

Satisfied, Donnie sits down and goes back to work.

Raph lets his gaze slide from Casey to Donnie and then back. He raises an eye ridge. Casey stomps to the front of the vehicle.

They fight Alopex, Casey almost dies multiple times, and then she runs off. After the battle, Donnie hurries up to Casey to demand if he’s okay, a hand on his arm as she looks him over. It moves to his face as she angles it, holding up two fingers. He gives the right number and reassures her that he’s fine, only for her to be skeptical.

Leaning into her hand and glancing at their close proximity, he slyly adds, “This curse really isn’t that bad.”

She blinks, clearly frazzled, awkwardly picking up her staff and opening her mouth like she’s going question it when the blade of the staff in her other hand almost impales him in the face.

He shouts as she frantically backs up, sheepishly apologizing and promising, “I-I’ll- uh, keep my distance.”

She turns and he flails, snapping, “This curse is the worst!”

They pile into the van. Tiger Claw gives his backstory. Then captures Alopex. But- uh oh! Turtles arrive to free her!

Fighting ensues! Casey almost dies many more times!

Then he breaks the blade! No more curses!

More fighting. Tiger Claw gets no arm and no tail.

Donnie hurries up to him when all is said and done and, predictably, demands to know his medical state. He tells her that he’s both fine and curseless, and she, visibly relieved, gives him a quick peck on the cheek before pulling away and snapping, “And next time listen to the dumb ol’ visions so you STAY THAT WAY!”

She stomps back to the vehicle, leaving everyone staring dumbfounded at Casey. He looks surprised, and then grins, looking after her as he muses, “You know, Raph. I think you got a point.”

The episode pans out with him watching her leave. Many hints.

The most hinty of episodes that absolutely nothing happens with.

"I also keep thinking about how would Casey and Donnie end up together if they did and how the others would react? Like how would that play out if it does? What would be their dynamic?"

They’re openly flirty for the rest of their time on screen, but it’s never confirmed if they actually get together or not. It’s left up for the audience to decide. Inspires a great many fanfictions.

'If' they did get together, it would be after The Tale Of Tiger Claw when Casey asks her out. Donnie would be confused about why a human would actually want to go out with her and would probably need time to think it over. Over some kind of episode span, I think she'd talk to all her brothers one-on-one about it briefly and then end the episode by accepting his offer.

All the brothers know Casey well enough to be confident that he's not going to do anything unforgivable, so they're supportive enough to tell her to say yes if she wants but also that she can be sure that he will die if he doesn't accept a no as an answer.

There's a decent amount of teasing during the relationship, but they all saw this coming, so no one really gives it a second glance.

They constantly clash but are able to apologize and work out their issues. They have similar interests in tech, so they build insane, explosive, and dangerous things together. They're often chill when they hang out but willing to dip into insulting sarcasm. Casey refuses to let Donnie hear out the insecurities in her brain and Donnie never hesitates to make Casey gifts so he can live his best life.

Their favorite pastime is finding a way to rile on another up. If you ask Donnie, she'll say that "he probably did something to deserve it." If you ask Casey, he'll smirk and say, "She's hot when she's mad"

Nobody understands why they work but they do.

Okay, fine, you forced my hand but YES I listen to It's Not Like I Like You when I think about their relationship what do you want from me?!

I love this soooooo much ;-;

For the Dona AU, does anything change with the China Town episode with the spirit guy or the episode during the farmhouse arc with the demon car?

Also I know you’ve talked about how Karai and Leo feel about Donnie getting almost (from what I remember anyway) blown up but how does Splinter feel? Seeing his youngest daughter in such a critical state caused by his eldest daughter? Does bro get flashbacks to Tang Shen and the night of the fire? Or even flashbacks to his past relationship with his Shedder since they were brothers?

Also does Donnie ever feel like she has to live up to this ‘expectation’ that is/was Miwa before they find out about Karai? Does Donnie feel the need to be a good daughter or does she feel like a replacement or replaceable because of that or not? Idk I just thought about that.

I also keep thinking about how would Casey and Donnie end up together if they did and how the others would react? Like how would that play out if it does? What would be their dynamic?

I have been loving this btw and hope you are taking care of yourself

I hope you know that you are the reason that I lie awake at night and stare at the roof wondering what angst I inadvertently created.

I saw this ask and had to distance myself from the world to stare at it and contemplate just what I’m putting these people through in an AU that’s SUPPOSED to make things better.

Thank you for your contribution. I have no regrets.

This is PART 1 of this Ask because PART 2 is really long so I decided to split them up so I can focus wholly on one of the two topics.

"Also I know you’ve talked about how Karai and Leo feel about Donnie getting almost (from what I remember anyway) blown up but how does Splinter feel? Seeing his youngest daughter in such a critical state caused by his eldest daughter? Does bro get flashbacks to Tang Shen and the night of the fire? Or even flashbacks to his past relationship with his Shedder since they were brothers?"

“Sensei!”

All of his sons cries overlap, panicked and high as their feet slap against the ground. He immediately notes the missing voice from their call, looking toward them as they slow to step down into the pit.

“My children,” He breathes as he turns to them, eyes widening as he watches them lower their sister to the ground. Raphael pants as he breaks away from her, looking towards him with a harsh panic, explanation coming in a chopped words, “Factory! Explosion!”

Splinter lets this sink in, scanning Michelangelo’s worried eyes as he supports her. Leonardo’s hand rests against her chest to track every breath and his eyes do not leave his sister.

There are burns along her head and arms. Agony painted along every ridge muscle and shallow breath. She is in pain, scrapped and bruised from debris, little bits of metal in her skin. His brain twists the sight before him, sprinkling little reminders that it had been wood that had fallen, metal that had caused the worst damage, blood that had soaked through the three scars forever embedded in his mind.

April shifts beside him and he recalls where he is. Nobody in his arms, a fire left long behind, and his daughter suffering before him.

He feels the urge to go her, pull her in his arms, demand to know what happened- but that did not help Tang Shen. It will not help her. “Take her to the dojo. I will prepare the healing mantras.”

Two of his sons obey. Leonardo does not move, calling after him. He’s a distraction, but something in his voice halts him anyway.

“It’s my fault.”

Splinter inhales, sharp. He now sees the guilt that he'd mistaken as sorrow, reprimand plastered to his tongue.

He will not release it. Not yet.

He waits for an explanation.

“Karai and I- we were taking down Shredder’s operations. I thought we could end this! I’m-” He looks to the side, eyes squeezed shut, before they drop to the floor. “I’m sorry.”

“Yoshi, Saki, please! You are brothers!”

“Go, Shen.”

Splinter exhales softly and turns away. He goes to the dojo and trusts that Leonardo will follow. It’s not until he nears the scrolls that he finds the right words. “I have always warned you of vengeance. What it could cause. What it can take from you. Your honor. Your sense.”

“Saki! This whole place is coming down!”

“Then we shall both perish here!”

“I am disappointed in you, Leonardo.” He pauses, looking at the scroll in his hand, before he lowers it. “But I am proud you had the courage to admit your wrongdoing. For many… It is not so simple.”

“You only dishonor yourself! Always jealous, always scheming, always filled with hate!”

“If I had told the others what I was up to, they never would have gone into that building.” Leonardo scans his expression as he stands, waiting for the verdict, too focused on the past.

Splinter redirects him. “It is right that you should feel pain for your mistakes. But it is one thing to regret bad decisions after they are made. A leader must foresee how bad decisions lead to bad results.”

“PLEASE! STOP!”

His son follows his gaze to his sister and then bows his head.

“I’m sorry, Sensei.”

“I am not the one who needs an apology.”

He steps away to let him think his words over and to focus on his sister, so that Leonardo will be able to give one. So that he will have the opportunity for forgiveness that Splinter never got to know.

The lair is too quiet. April volunteers to check up on his sons, eyes lingering on her friend before she resolutely turns to leave.

Splinter is grateful that she does, for not long after, Donatello stirs.

“My daughter,” he breaths, light flickering from his hands. He goes immediately to cup her face, searching glazed eyes for the light that may have been stolen by the fire. “You are safe. I am here.”

She blinks, rapid and confused, as tears track down to Splinter’s hand. She whimpers, hand clamping over his wrist. “Pap-aaaah!”

“Breathe,” He soothes as she cries out. She squeezes, hard, moisture falling to his fur. “I-It hurts! What- why- why doh-”

“You are injured.” He brushes her face. “Burned. But you are healing.”

She only stares through him, disoriented and scared, even while leaning into his hand. Another whimper shrivels in her throat.

His eyes water, without his want or consent. He has no reason to be upset. She is alive. She needs him to be strong. “Rest, my daughter. You will not know this same pain when you awaken.”

She tries to move, lifting her leg and dropping it, gasping in air when it touches the ground. Her cry is drowned by a whine and he wishes there was a way to take her pain and make it his own.

“Silly ninja. It is not a father’s job to take the pain, my Yoshi. Only to soothe it. Here, let me.”

“Sleep, precious one.” He whispers in the same way that he had years ago when days were long and little turtle hands refused to still. “Papa will not let the world move far without you.”

Her fear lulls, tempered by the gentle safety of the past, a tiny chirp sliding from her tongue. He gives her that moment of calm and then touches the pressure point to knock her out. He gently lays her back down on the mat, resuming the mantra with steady hands.

April comes in to stand on Donatello’s other side.

“They’re not in the lair.”

Splinter gives no response. She kneels down.

They stay by Donatello’s side.

"I thought I could make this about taking down Shredder's organization. But it's too much of a risk going after petty targets just to spite him. I promise, I will no longer go after Shredder's possessions. I'll go after Shredder himself."

The hope that had begun to flicker in his chest dies as Miwa removes her blade from its sheath. She does not look back, leaving them all in the wake of her promise, and Splinter finds his hand outstretched.

He does not know what to do. He does not know what to say.

She saw the price of revenge, and she's still choosing to move forward. How can he stop this? How can he make her see sense?

He doesn't get to decide. A blur of motion charges past.

"NO!"

He sees the impact when Leonardo collides with her. He grabs at the blade as she whirls in surprise, catching her wrist to avoid getting it caught between them. They fall backward, with her taking the blunt of their weight and Leonardo's fury holding them down.

"Leo!" All of his children cry out as Splinter moves to their side, pausing when he spots the fury in his glare. Not one of confusion or anger, but of fear and hurt and understanding, with a protective bite that promises no mercy while caught in sharp teeth.

"Are. You. INSANE?"

This cannot end well.

Splinter should intervene, but for once, he does not.

He motions for the others to stand down as well, watching his daughter's face flick between skin and scales, and lets Leonardo have his say. "We've done this before, Karai! YOU'VE done that before! You ran off to go face him and you got LOCKED UP! It took us MONTHS to get you out! Countless nights of risking our lives for YOU! And now you want to- what, do it all again?"

"I will not be alone this time!" She manages to shove him off, getting to her feet and stumbling away. Miwa looks back, towards Splinter, and he keeps his gaze cool, offering no protection. "I have the clan!"

"Shredder has faced down many armies and fought many battles." Splinter says. "But you would know that, my daughter."

She glares, "I'm doing what has to be done!"

"That's what you said about the warehouses." Leo stalks up to her. "That's what you said about the money. That's what you told me before you went to blow up some stupid factory as if your last mission didn't get your sister BLOWN UP."

"I didn't tell her to go in there-!"

"YOU PLANTED THE BOMBS!" Leonardo's scream cracks at the last word, fists shaking with the pain of almost losing a loved one, eyes clear with the knowledge of how such loss can impact a soul. He takes a heavy breath and the room holds it with him.

He looks at Splinter, and their father nods his encouragement.

"We are leaders." He declares, strong and pronounced. "We are born leaders of our clan, but also of a family. We were selfish and our siblings paid for it. Our ONLY little sister paid for it."

Their gazes travel to her. She is not watching the conversation, hands pressed over the sides of her head, entrapped in a steady hold by the youngest. Her eyes are not visible, squeezed shut in pain, and Splinter's heart aches to see it.

"I..." All attention travels to Miwa. "I never wanted her to be hurt."

"But she was." Leonardo holds his head high. "And instead of learning from it, you are repeating old mistakes. I thought better of you. I thought you'd be better than that Karai."

He turns away from her, steps as silent as the dojo as he travels back to his sister's side. He kneels next to Michelangelo, takes her hand, and wraps his other hand safely around it as she squeezes his fingers.

"I will not risk my family for you again." He says coolly, holding tight. The sound crosses the space with even volume. "If you choose to go alone, you will truly be alone. Do not count on me to bail you out."

"Leo..." She tries, but Splinter does not let her continue. "He is right."

She looks to him, defeat painting eyes that have seen more horrors than any child should know. "I have warned my children against walking into Saki's hands too many times. But I cannot stop them from making their own choices, anymore than I can stop you."

He takes a breath. "You act as if you have no choice. You act as if you are on your own. You are not. You are not alone anymore, Miwa. You are not bound by Saki's vices. You have a family that has fought long and hard for you to come home, and yet you would choose his anger over their love."

"Father." Her fists tighten. Her voice cracks. "He ruined my life."

"He ruined much on that faithful day," Splinter admits as he approaches her, gently cupping her face. He tries not to see Shen in her teary eyes. "But our lives are not yet over. He cannot take anything else from us if we do not let him. Leave his influence behind. Your mother... She would not want this for you."

"I don't-" She pulls her arms to her chest, closing her eyes to bow her head. "I don't know how."

"What do you think we're here for?" Raphael demands with a dismissive bat of his hand at the open air. "Decoration?"

"Let us help you." Splinter translates. "Let us teach you."

"C'mon sis." Michelangelo says, smile weak but genuine. "We deal with April and Dona every day. You'll be a piece of cake."

"Hey," A baffled April says at the same moment that Donatello weakly hits his plastron. Michelangelo laughs, Raphael snickers, and Leonardo shakes his head to hide his smile.

She pulls away, and Splinter lets her.

"Okay." Miwa announces with a smirk, though her confidence does not reach her eyes. "I'll try."

Splinter puts his hands on his cane and nods, "It is all we ask."

Also does Donnie ever feel like she has to live up to this ‘expectation’ that is/was Miwa before they find out about Karai? Does Donnie feel the need to be a good daughter or does she feel like a replacement or replaceable because of that or not? Idk I just thought about that.

Definitely during her younger years. It’s one thing to be the adopted sons who don't comprehend depression and death knowing that he spends a decent amount of time mourning his daughter and wife.

It’s another to be an adopted daughter who doesn’t comprehend depression and death who’s watching him distance himself sometimes to mourn a different daughter that she’s never met when she’s standing right there.

Thankfully (from a Donnie-development POV), Miwa ‘never’ got the chance to grow up. So there isn’t actually any notes to take to fill her shoes and meet expectations. Whenever she actively tries to be like Tang Shen (as she understands her mom from his stories), it only seems to depress Splinter more.

On the day that Splinter gives them their weapons, she entirely expects to be given the one that was meant for Miwa. Then he hands her the bo staff and tells her that it’s perfect for her, and she doesn’t know what to think. It’s the first time that she’s completely confident that he sees Donatello instead of Miwa when he looks at her.

Whenever she needs a reminder of that, she looks to her staff.

By the time that she goes up to the surface, she’s grown to be comfortable in that part of her place in the family.

…And then they meet Karai.

Now, if this does revamp her worries about her place in the family, it’s never directly mentioned in any episodes. Donnie’s main issue with Karai is that she’s always let her imagination run away with her big sister’s image, drafting what Miwa would be like if she survived.

And Karai. Is not the person who Donnie imagined her to be.

"I have been loving this btw and hope you are taking care of yourself"

Right back at you!! Thanks for the Ask!!!

•-•

Dona is living in my head rent free and I let her

I love her so much

For @imagionationstation ‘s Dona AU

Dona is living in my head rent free and I let her

I love her so much

For @imagionationstation ‘s Dona AU

Me before reading this: :0 :D

Me after reading this:

Dona AU Rewrite - New Girl In Town

Leo was knocking before he could chicken out of it.

Normally, he would have thought twice about bothering April when it was so late at night, but he had no idea where his brothers had run off to and Sensei would be mad if he came home without them. He felt like he was going to explode if he didn’t talk to someone about the excitement bubbling in his chest.

Besides, who better to talk to about humans than the human girl who probably has had tons of friends over the years? It was so obvious!

Also, also, in all the comics and movies and books that he’s ever seen, teens love being awake at all hours. So she’ll probably be happy to have some company! It’s a win-win!

He raps on the window, careful to keep his voice low.

The last thing he wants is to attract her aunt. That’ll be a fun convo.

“April! April?”

The floorboard creaks. He stiffens and ducks back, relieved when a familiar face comes to the window with half-open eyes.

She squints at him, muttering his name.

He can’t really hear her, so he waves, giving her a moment to wake up. She grumbles under her breath, pushing open the window with a sleepy, “…etter be good.”

“Hey.” He smiles sheepishly, suddenly questioning his choices. He clearly woke her up. The way her eyes keep slipping shut tell the whole story. Hoping to be considerate both to her and to keep her aunt asleep, he’s careful to keep his voice low. “I- need to talk.”

“Can I wait ‘til morning?” She rubs her eye.

Leo blames her human upbringing and her current lack of sleep on the fact that she should know he can’t come back come morning, hurriedly blurting, “I met this girl-”

April springs awake in a second, grabbing him by the shoulders.

“Tell me everything.”

He had every intention of doing so, but he’s glad that she’s no longer an unwilling audience. She stares at him, fists up, eyes wide, and Leo suddenly realizes that he doesn’t… Actually know that much about Karai. He looks to the sky, embarrassed. “Well, she’s really cool.”

He peeks at her. April nods, quick.

“She’s also- a martial artist.”

April nods harder, bangs moving as she does. He grins.

“And- uh-” Oh! “She’s in the Foot Clan!”

Leo is looking right at her and somehow still does not see the rolled-up magazine coming until it’s smacking him in the face.

Maybe he should of.

“Are you crazy?!”

He probably should of.

Okay, bad topic. “April, she’s different. She’s-”

April has pulled away, leaning on the windowsill. “In The Footclan.”

“Yeah, b-but she’s-”

She gets louder. “In the Footclan.”

This is not going how he pictured it. “Look, I know I shouldn’t be hanging out with her-”

April crosses her arms and rises to her full height. “You got that right! You know why? ‘CAUSE SHE’S IN THE FOOTCLAN!”

Leo winces. Geez, no wonder Donnie wants to be friends with this girl. They’re more alike than he thought.

“April!” He grips the windowsill, fingers digging into the wood. He needs her to understand. Why can’t someone understand? “She’s fun! And I’m tired of being the responsible one! Why can’t I be stupid or selfish? When do I get to have fun?”

April sighs, arms falling to her side, “What does she want from you?”

Leo looks away. “I don’t know. I’m meeting her later at the Birley Building. She’s got something planned.”

April blinks, “So like a date, or-?”

Leo rears back. “No! Just- I don’t know. Maybe she wants to hang-out. Or talk. That’s stuff friends do? Right?”

“Sure, that, or-” Leo looks at her curiously and she snaps, “Maybe she wants push you OFF the Birley Building? It’s a trap, Leo!”

“I don’t think so.” He frowns, voice firm. “There’s good in her. I know there is. I can feel it.”

April stares at him for a moment. Her voice is tainted in disbelief. “I hope you’re right.”

The window slams shut. Leo flinches, turning away.

Well. That did… Not go the way he thought it would.

Karai is waiting for him when he gets there.

He does a loop around the building, scanning for any signs of hidden warriors. She has no Foot legions with her, so it’s not an ambush. If she intends to kill him, she wants to do it herself. But she’s already had the chance to kill him many times. And she hadn’t.

Was it just to get his guard down? Why waste the time and effort?

He groans. He’s going to regret this, isn’t he?

…He’ll probably regret it more if he never solves the mystery.

He lands on the parapet.

“About time.” There’s a smirk in her voice. “I was beginning to think you were a no-show.” She turns, a hand on her hip. “But you don’t disappoint.”

He studies her, walking closer. “So… What’s this about?”

He catches the tossed binoculars. “That.”

He turns, brows furrowed, before raising them up to his face. His eyes widen, breathless. “That’s the sword of Miyamoto Usagi.”

She kneels, so he does too, looking between her and the weapon as she speaks. “The greatest swordsman in the history of Japan. It’s ancient. It’s priceless. And it’s yours.”

He blinks at her, startled. She grins. “If. You help me.”

Leo doesn’t like the look in her eyes. He’s seen it in Raph’s before he asks him to do something that they both know Sensei would never allow. “…Do what?”

“You know what.” Leo really hopes he doesn’t. He really, really, really hopes- “We’re going to steal it.”

That is just his luck, isn’t it? He frowns. “No, we’re not.”

Her mood drops. “Come on, that sword is just sitting there collecting dust!” He glances back to it. “You know you deserve that katana.” Adrenaline races at the thought on what it might be like to merely hold it. Must less wield it. “Certainly more than some lazy rich guy.”

Karai stands and Leo stiffens. He keeps his eyes on the blade because that’s safer than revealing how tempting the thought is.

“Stop being responsible, Leo.”

She gets down on a knee, closer, looking to him expectantly. She’s eager for him to follow through. Impatient for him to join her. She wants him to come with her. He doesn’t want to let her down.

He’s always the downer. Always the killjoy. Or the spoilsport.

But… But this isn’t turning down a R-rated movie or tattling when Raph tries to talk Donnie and Mikey into doing some dumb, harmless prank that’ll backlash on all of them. This is stealing. Thievery.

“Stop waiting for people to give you the life you want.”

Leo’s heart races as she inches closer.

“Go out and take it.”

“No.”

Leo closes his eyes and looks away. He can’t. He can’t. It doesn’t matter how much he wants to listen to her or how easy it would be to sneak in and retrieve. How simple it would be to let her lead.

It doesn’t matter that she might be mad at him, and he might lose his only shot at an awesome sparring partner and maybe-friend.

She stands. “I’m getting that sword, Leo. With or without you.”

His heart sinks. He surprised to find himself hesitate.

Okay. So, maybe it does matter. It all matters.

“Choose.”

But at the end of the day, it’s not who he is.

He stands, holding his ground.

“I can’t.”

At the end of the day, he still has to look in the mirror and think about the kind of example that he’s setting for his siblings. Who will they become if he starts opening these doors? Actually crosses this line?

Even if he’s not leader, they’ll follow him.

“It’s wrong.”

And he’s not a villain. It’s not who he is.

“You’re starting to bore me...”

It doesn’t have to be who she is either.

She reaches for her blade. He grabs her hand.

He searches her face. “Karai, you don’t have to do this.”

“I know.” Her grin returns. “That’s what makes it- fun!”

Karai moves, abruptly, kicking and flipping him before he has a chance to process the intent or action. He ends up on his face, shell in air as she plans a foot on his carapace, arm in a really uncomfortable position behind him.

How many times is a human girl going to catch him off guard tonight? Good things his brothers aren’t around to…

“Leo!”

Oh, come on. The universe could have at least set him Mikey!

Or Donnie! He’d even deal with her. Anyone but…

“What- what are you doing?!”

Couldn’t she have at least knocked him out?

“Who’s she?!”

Karai doesn’t say anything. Great. Just great.

“Uhm… Uh…” Leo’s fingers tap the concrete before he awkwardly raises his hand to gesture between them. “Raph, Karai. Karai, Raph.”

Raph gawks, “What are you, friends with her?!”

Yeah, that’s the question, isn’t it?

Leo thinks he’ll take April’s advice next time.

I made some finished pieces of the Dona AU by @imagionationstation check it out, it’s basically and AU where Donnie is a girl and it is really cool and freaking awesome and I. Love. It.

Here are some sketches I made that might be made into pieces

I love female Donnie so much you wouldn’t believe. She has invaded my brain and is providing much needed dopamine.

I gave her lashes because how could I not I mean, I think Donnie deserves lashes even if she can’t grow them . Most of these are redraws of screenshots from certain episodes, tho the last one is from a fan art I found on Pinterest and sadly I couldn’t find the artist. It was mostly a sketch to get to know Donnie as a character so yeah.

If I do make that sketch a drawing I would change some things about it but it was just a draft.

Please check out the creator of the AU they are so freaking cool.

Yeah I only heard PB when watching scenes with her going absolutely nuts and killing that heart guy and her being a dork. But Entrapta is way better fit for her now that i think about it.

I also asked about the Vampire episode cause of how much you changed the Big Foot one. Didn’t know if you would make any big changes to that one or not.

Loving this AU so far and will def be tagging you and the AU with the art

Gender swap Donnie is my everything, I love it so much and AHHHDJDBSISBBKSOA

Actively feral as we speak, when reading the stuff about Dona I couldn’t help but think she would sound like Princess Bubblegum (cause you know two genius scientists who are little insane)

I am also wondering how she be like when dealing with Don Visio so and you know trying to kill him at one point. Also how protective are her brothers when it comes to love interests? Like I know you said Casey maybe a love interest but what about other mutants or even aliens flirting with her? How would they react to that? And with the Halloween special, what would Dona’s experience be with being turned into a vampire? Cause in the original Dracula book when it focused on turning women into vampires it was a little … um not good for the gal. So how would she be turned if that changes? Also how would the 1987 turtle crossover react to Dona?

Sorry if this is a lot I just have so many questions and just want to know what you think about this. I really like this au and want to read more about it and your thoughts.

Please don’t feel pressured to answer this and take your time I literally just found your blog and am re-re-re-re-reading as I am writing this. I love this idea and concept so much.

Also can I make art of Dona AU pls?

I am going insane as we speak.

(Not serious (take your time and take care of yourself))

(I always find it funny when people are like: Yk that movie/character/book series- and I’m just no?? Who told you that I did?? Never seen that before in my life.)

ANYWAY, I TOOK YOUR RECOMMENDATION VERY SERIOUSLY.

I WATCHED ME MANY A YOUTUBE CLIP!

And you must be hearing something I don’t because I don’t hear Donnie in Princess Bubblegum. She’s too soft spoken. And I don’t know if she could pull off the Donnie-isms from canon. No, no, if I needed to choose a voice for her- hmmm.

Entrapta from She-Ra would be my first pick, I think. Definitely.

I am also wondering how she be like when dealing with Don Visio so and you know trying to kill him at one point.

Exactly the same! Everything that happens with her in canon when facing him does not change in the slightest. The only difference would be that her brothers would be extremely ticked off in the episode Mutant Gangland. Even so, Leo would still be the voice of reason when talking her down in Heart of Evil.

Also how protective are her brothers when it comes to love interests? Like I know you said Casey maybe a love interest but what about other mutants or even aliens flirting with her? How would they react to that?

If someone begins flirting with Donnie, I think they’d only be protective if Donnie shows discomfort with the situation. I think this would happen a few times, but often, Donnie is completely oblivious and her brothers love watching people struggle. Of course, flirty is one thing. Making active moves on her is another.

Six feet apart, hands to yourself, thank you very much.

Now, if Donnie has a love interest, they’ll let it play out naturally. It’s her relationship and they wouldn’t want her interfering with theirs. They sus out the interest and then they leave it to her because they trust her to handle herself and know that if she ever does have any issues… She’s tell them. They’ll know.

I think if there’s a place for a relationship with Casey to start, it would be during the farmhouse arc. Before that, there was still a fair amount of bickering between them because she was having jelly feelings about April’s friendship with him and Irma.

April didn’t come down to the lair when she was hanging out with them and doing all kinds of human activities that Donnie couldn’t do. Once again, Donnie felt different. Not because she was a girl, but because she was a mutant. And they couldn’t hang out one-on-one when she starts dragging Casey down with her. At least Irma seemed friendly and smart! Casey Jones was so… Brash. Rude. Arrogant.

As she whined in the show, “Now we have TWO RAPHAELS!”

Eventually, though, she realizes that, just like Raph, he can be crude, but he’s also kinda a sweetheart deep down.

And with the Halloween special, what would Dona’s experience be with being turned into a vampire? Cause in the original Dracula book when it focused on turning women into vampires it was a little … um not good for the gal. So how would she be turned if that changes?

Um. Huh? I don’t… I guess I don’t know what that entailed?

Are you asking if the scene would be more sexual? Or if this grown man would be preying on a teenager? Ew, actually, wow, I don’t like that. REVERSE THOUGHT PROCESS REVERT REVERT

I think there’s too much happening to insert anything anyway.

There would probably be an inappropriate innuendo or two from Mikey about “vampires going after females” since he already makes iffy comments in the canon show. Why not more cringe?

I really don’t know if there’s anything I would change except for that part when April hypnotizes him. I’d make that more “friendship” and less “romance” (if you know what I mean). Otherwise, the episodes should stay the same as in canon.

Donnie simply gets bitten by April and turns into a vampire after helping her brothers and Renet reach a safe room. She tries to attack them but they manage to escape. They tussle later.

Also how would the 1987 turtle crossover react to Dona?

I think any crossovers would have the four brother iterations giving her a double-take. And the 1987 especially have never met a female of any of the brothers so they’d probably make a comment or two.

Heck, in the episode Trans-Dimensional Turtles, since there are no introductions, and they mainly use names versus pronouns through most of the episode, I think that the 1987 would just run off the assumption that she’s male. She doesn’t usually dress or act any differently from her brothers so there aren’t a lot of huge pointers that she’s of another sexuality.

And assuming the timelines they’ve seen and the timeline that they come from, it’s a reasonable assumption.

I think the reveal would probably be during the final episodes during the kitchen scene. It would likely be before they discuss Icecream Kitty and Chompy and 1987Donatello remarks, “Wow, our parallel works really are different.”

One of the brothers casually uses “she” while talking about her and 1987Raphael immediately interrupts with a baffled, “Wait, is your Donnie a girl?” In a tone that triggers Donnie’s sass “So what if I am!?” and, of course, 1987Raphael fires back some snide comment at the attack, and it takes all of her brothers intervening to calm her down and helping to explain in order to defuse the situation.

I don’t think I know them well enough to judge how they’d respond after the fact. I just assume the show continues as normal 🤔

Please don’t feel pressured to answer this and take your time I literally just found your blog and am re-re-re-re-reading as I am writing this. I love this idea and concept so much. Also can I make art of Dona AU pls?

I LOVE to hear that other people are going feral over her! Never apologize for your curiosity and never hesitate to ask!! I will answer all the questions I can when fate allows the time!

Absolutely, you can! Make all the fanart you want!

All I ask is that you tag me so I can see her! 💜