So this is one thought that has rotated in my brain ever since I watched through the entire 2003 series for the first time, but as much as I love Donatello and consider him my favorite turtle, there is one not-so-tiny thing that bugs me and that's the fact that he does probably go through the least character development of the four turtles despite going through some genuinely terrible shit.
When I think of some of the stuff Donatello goes through during the series, the stuff that makes me think "Good lord, WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS TO MY BOY," the three incidents that stick out the most are the Triceraton Mind Probe from the Space Invaders arc, the entirety of Same As It Never Was, and the Outbreak Saga/Good Genes Arc. The Triceraton Mind Probe scene is one that is physically painful to watch. Don is writhing and screaming the whole time as the probe rapidly picks through his memories trying to find information on Professor Honeycutt's whereabouts, and it's clear that at one point he becomes so scared that he begs for help from his father. Fortunately, his spiritual connection with Splinter allows him overpower the device and short circuit it, but if he hadn't had such a strong bond with him, who knows what would have happened.
Same As It Never Was... what needs to be said at this point? Donatello gets transported to a bad future where the Shredder rules the world, Splinter and Casey are dead, and the turtles have disbanded after their version of Don disappeared 30 years prior. Donatello watches all three of his brothers die protecting him, and at the end of the episode laments the fate of his poor brothers and just how nightmarish the world is before he's warped away. And that's just the tl;dr version.
Good Genes arc, though, oh my god. I feel a major reason why this arc is so good is because it plays on an idea presented on Same As It Never Was--that is, Donatello, with his level head and ability to come up with ingenious solutions to problems the turtles encounter, is what's keeping the team together. As a result of the Outbreak virus, Donatello undergoes a secondary mutation that turns him into a violent, aggressive monster and it's stated because of reactions with the Utrom mutagen already in his blood, his body is breaking down; if he's not cured, he will die. The knowledge that Donatello may perish if nothing is done is bad enough, but even just not having their brother there mentally is enough to mess up the entire team dynamic. In their desperation to save him, they go so far as to make a deal with Bishop, who Leonardo openly compares to the Devil himself, and their actions ultimately lead to the events of the Ninja Tribunal arc the following season. It was the single most dire situation the turtles were in since Exodus, and it wasn't even an entire galaxy at stake; just their beloved brother.
But despite all that, Donatello doesn't actually change much as a result of these events. That's because, more often than not, the stuff that happens to him is more used to fuel his brothers emotional reactions and development than his own. Good Genes is probably the best example of this because even though Donatello is the one physically suffering during the arc, it's Leonardo, Raphael, and Michelangelo who get all the interesting emotional reactions to their present situation; Leonardo finds himself almost completely lost on what to do without Don, and Raphael and Michelangelo, who are absolutely devastated over Don's transformation, spend much of the arc eerily quiet when compared to their usual selves. The only thing we get in terms of Don is the fact that he doesn't remember what happened while he was "sick," and is thus frustrated by how much his brothers end up coddling him in the wake of the incident (which unfortunately isn't all that important since we're about to enter the Ninja Tribunal arc.)
It really is unfortunate that Donatello doesn't go through much development because I otherwise love everything about him. Besides his intelligence, techno savvy, and ability to quickly pick up skills that might be useful to the team (I'm also very biased towards his Bō not due to its strength as a weapon, but it's amount of utility both in and outside combat), I'm absolutely floored by just how nice and gentle he is. He's still got plenty of sass hidden in his shell and can be quite snippy when he's annoyed, but he shows a lot of emotional sensitivity and is very empathetic; this is especially shown in his sibling dynamics with Raphael and Michelangelo, whose relationships tend to be the most...tumultuous? Of the turtles. I don't have a better word for it.
As an aside, I genuinely feel like The King doesn't get enough credit where it's due because yeah, it's a touching tribute to the late Jack Kirby, but it's important as a Donatello-focused episode because it's not focused on his status as the genius inventor of the turtles; instead, we look at his nature as a kind, friendly individual who is very sentimental and doesn't take loss very well. He quickly strikes up a friendship with Kirby, who is one of the few humans not to reject Donatello just because he's a 5'2" mutant turtle, and they end up having a fun adventure in the alternate dimension where all of Kirby's drawings end up disappearing to. Unfortunately, Donatello is unable to pull Kirby back through the portal in time as it's closing; the alternate ending, which is closer to original Mirage issue the episode is based on, really hammered in just how deeply this affected Don, since he absolutely refuses to talk to Raphael and walks off to be by himself, gazing solemnly at the drawing Kirby was able to send through the portal. "Life at best is bittersweet. Take care of yourself."
God damn it, my poor son.
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byler headcanon where…
mike, who loves writing as we all know, also loves to read (duh) and one of his favorite books is the hobbit and, well, he kind of loses it when will confesses to him he hasn’t read it yet. so next day at school mike shoves his copy into will’s hands and tells him to read it so they can talk about it soon. and will reads it… but he’s not as fast as mike and he kind of dozes off the pages a lot when a scene gets really stuck in his head. next thing he knows he’s doodling in the margins of the book whatever just happened in the previous chapter with a pen nonetheless.
ofc will panics bc he knows mike loves to have his books in pristine condition and will didn’t mean to basically deface mike favorite book? so as soon as he’s back home he rushes to his room to check his savings and see if he has enough money to get mike a new copy. he doesn’t. maybe jonathan could help him out, or his mom, but it feels wrong to make them responsible for will’s mistake. besides, that would be lying to mike, and that’s something will won’t do.
next day mike is waiting for him at the school’s entrance with a bounce in his step and vibrant eyes. he wastes no time to ask “so? did you read it? did you like it? what was your favorite part?”.
will bites his lip and mike’s eyes drop to the book he’s holding in his hands. “uhm, mike. i-"
“yeah?”
“i sort of got distracted… while i was reading and i… uh-"
“hey” mike smiles at him and bumps their shoulders together. “it’s not big deal if you didn’t finish it yet. it’s a long book, after all. sorry, i didn’t want to pressure you.”
“you didn’t!” will rushes to say and mike’s brows spring up in surprise with a curious glance. “i mean, i haven’t finished it. but that’s not what i wanted… to say.”
“oh.” mike frowns. “so… you haven’t liked it so far? you don’t have to keep reading if-"
“i am liking it! a lot. but i also… i just… uhm, here. it’s better if you look by yourself.” will hands mike the copy did the book and glues his eyes to his shoes. his neck and cheeks prickle with heat at the same time something cold pools in his stomach. “sorry.”
“why are you-"
“just open it, mike.”
mike keeps quiet for a second and will can feel his eyes roaming through will’s body. and will knows mike is probably biting his tongue not to ask if he’s okay, if something happened, if it has to do with the upside down. he doesn’t ask, though, and will breathes a little better like that.
“okay, then?” and mike opens the book. and there, on the very first page at the title there’s nothing. mike keeps thumbing through the pages, probably confused. and then, “oh.”
yup, there it is. between the ending of a chapter and the beginning of another, will’s first doodle in the margins of the page. an illustration of what is happening in the pages with some of the blue ink smeared where will’s hand hovered too close to the paper and the smell of his ballpoint impressed on the page.
will looks up with his bottom lip still stuck between his teeth. mike’s eyes are pinned to the page, mouth barely parted and a frown barely hiding under his bangs.
“i’m so sorry, mike. i know you like to have your books as they come from the bookstore.” that is true. mike is the type of guy that rejects things like dog ears for marking a page or a broken spine. let alone a drawing in fucking blue ink in the middle of the book. “i- i kinda dozed off while reading? and i started doodling without noticing and then i saw what i did and it’s ink so i can’t erase it and- i thought on getting you a new copy. maybe next month? i probably can save enough by then-“
mike’s steady hand on his shoulder shuts will right up. he freezes under mike’s touch until his body recognises mike’s shape, the curve of his palm and the length of his fingers right where will’s neck connects with his shoulder. mike’s hand has been a constant weight there throughout their friendship. an anchor and a comfort, and so after the initial shock he gets whenever someone touches him (a little thing the upside down left him), will melted under the touch. his muscles go slack and he breathes out.
“will, i’m not mad.”
will blinks. he didn’t think mike would get mad. it’s hard to make mike mad, after all. well, no. that’s not true. it’s extremely easy to get mike worked up, but not for will. it’s as if mike has a few extra doses of patience reserved only for him. so, yeah. will didn’t expect mike to be mad, but he also didn’t expect to see mike smiling at him in that soft way of his, with a faint blush creeping up his neck and cheeks.
“you… are not?”
“of course not! are you kidding? will, this is so cool!” mike looks down at the drawing and his hand leaves will’s shoulder and a cold spot behind. mike’s fingers trace will’s defined lines in blue ink and it looks so… intimate. hell, is the sun suddenly hitting will with all its might? because he’s feeling a bit too squirmy and tickly on the back. and also a bit hot on the face. maybe he’s coming down with a fever. or maybe mike wheeler is being a menace to his health as always. “this drawing… it’s exactly what i see when i read the book.”
“really?” oh, great. just fantastic. more blushing.
“yeah. did you draw more?” mike thumbs through the pages and finds other two doodles, and he looks equally fascinated with both. “i… i love them, will.”
will could basically be classified as a new type of tomato right about now with how hot his cheeks burn. “you do?”
mike snorts and nods, looking up at will. “of course! why wouldn’t i? you know i love all of your art.”
deep breaths, byers. it’s not a good idea to hyperventilate right in front of your best friend you are in love with just because he loves your art. will clenches his hands and hides them in his pockets.
“uh, well. i just- i know you like to keep your books like brand new so- and that’s your favorite book too.”
“it for sure is my favorite one now.”
“huh?”
mike tilts his head and his eyes narrow to block the sunlight coming from will’s back. “well, because now you are in it, of course.”
“oh.”
“yeah.”
“that’s- cool.”
“yeah. cool.” mike smiles and will smiles back, feeling like he’s standing on air, as light as the clouds and about to float away at any second. but, well, even if he did, will knows would be there to keep him grounded and next to him. the thought is a bit dizzying and will pushes it away. “so… i’m guessing this is why you didn’t finish it? spent all the time doodling the scenes?” mike lifts the book and wiggles it in front of will.
will sighs. “yeah. maybe it was that.”
mike considers this for a moment and… okay, will isn’t sure what mike is even considering. next thing mike is snapping his fingers and giving the book back to will.
“tell you what. why don’t we head to mine after school?”
will tilts his head. “to read?”
“just trust me.”
the day comes and goes and before will knows it the last bell is ringing and he’s pushing his bike out of school and down the street to mike’s house with mike right beside him. will notices not lucas nor dustin follow them beyond their own houses. will also notices mike stops at lucas house for a few minutes before coming back next to will so they bike to his home. oh, okay. so this is a mike and will thing, and not a party thing. cool. that’s cool.
will isn’t sure what mike has in mind as they climb down to his basement. they slump down in the couch and mike opens his backpack right away.
“get the book,” he tells will and will does.
when he sits back up and look at mike, will is surprised to find another copy of the hobbit on mike’s lap. that one looks more worn down, with a broken spine and yellow-ish pages. definitely not mike’s.
will tenses and then melts when he feels mike’s thumb running up between his brows.
“stop with the growing,” mike laughs. “you are going to start to look to much like me.”
will rolls his eyes but can’t help the smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. “and what a tragedy would that be.” mike snorts and mike points at the book on mike’s lap. “where did that one come from?”
“i borrowed it from lucas.”
“oh. uhm, why?”
“so we can read! well,” mike gestures with his hands on the air like he does a lot when trying to get his point across. it’s a cute gesture will always notices. “so i can read while you draw.”
“huh?”
mike looks down at the book and there, again, there’s a faint shade of pink crawling up his neck and cheeks. mike shrugs and takes a breath in, looking back at will.
“i just thought i could, you know, read the book to you. out loud. i love the hobbit after all and a reread was long overdue. besides, like that you can keep drawing on my copy while i read to you.”
will’s eyes go a bit wide and he blinks in surprise. will knows mike as well as the palm of his hand, but there are moments when his best friend still manages to throw him out of balance in surprise.
“you want me to… keep drawing on your book?”
mike shrugs. it’s shy and contained, as if he was trying to make the gesture as small as possible. “if that’s okay with you.”
“is that okay with you?”
mike nods. “hell, yeah. like that, next time i read my copy i can see your drawings. i just… i don’t know… i think that would be pretty… cool.”
“cool?”
“yeah.”
will stares into mike’s eyes and goddamnit his heart better not throw him under the bus by jumping out of his mouth directly into mike’s lap. “okay. yeah, let’s do it.”
they find a comfortable position on the couch that ends up both of them laying on it in opposite directions, each of them resting their head on a couch arm and getting a pretty good view of the other. it’s a bit of a tight fit, especially since they aren’t little kids anymore and the couch didn’t care to grow along with them during all these years. but will is comfortable right where he is, with his hip pressed against mike’s hip, his legs being mike’s arm support, and just having mike this close at all.
it’s also not the most comfortable position to draw and will’s hand is about to cramp like hell, but he’ll choose to be haunted by another demogorgon before suggesting to move even an inch from where they are.
so, with his blue ballpoint in hand and both books opened at page 64, mike starts reading and will sinks into the melody of his voice, butterflies flapping against the edges of his stomach when mike makes voices for each character and when he sings under his breath the songs in a made up melody. mike’s voice wraps around will and guides his strokes on each page. will absorbed every word, every sentence, each one being carved in his brain with mike’s voice. his heart is pounding behind his ribs, fast but gentle at the same time, and soon he is dragged into a world of fantasy where the only ones from hawkins who remain to exist are him and mike.
they keep going like that for about a hundred and something pages and before they notice it a couple of hours have gone by.
“stay for dinner? we can keep reading after,” mike says as he stretches his arms up. his feet push against will’s shoulder.
“doesn’t your throat hurt reading for that long?” will asks, noticing mike’s voice as turned a bit raspier in the last hour. not something he hates, by any means. but, yeah. will notices.
“nah, i’m good. so, do you wanna?”
will smiles and nods. “yeah, sure.”
they don’t finish the book that night, but will doodles on many pages and by the time he gets home, he can still hear mike’s voice bouncing inside his ears, comforting and soft and just so… mike’s.
will slumps on bed face first and smiles into his pillow like the idiot in love he is. his fingers ache for keep drawing, but he doesn’t want to keep reading what’s left of the book without mike. this is their thing now, something they share and will wouldn’t have it any other way.
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