"They can't help but worry. That's what makes them family." The edges of Raph's vision blur slightly as he tries to keep his voice steady for Donnie. "If your family is anything like mine, then they'd want you to be safe an' sound with folks who care about you."
As he squeezes Donnie, he lets his gaze drop, looking down at the large crack on the lefthand corner of his plastron. "...I know what it's like. Being controlled." Seeing Donnie walk toward Maleficent with a smile on his face was unsettling. That level of obedience resonates, making his stomach churn as he remembers what Krang Prime had done to him. "It wasn't for very long, but...it was horrible. An' lonely. If it wasn't for Leo, you, an' Mikey — I'd still be stuck like that, an' things could've gotten worse."
Which, to be fair, did get worse in one timeline for them. But he is grateful they managed to shift that narrative, if just barely.
"We may not be able to change anything that happened, but I was reminded of something," he says after a few beats, easing back into the silence that he let slip in after his last thought. "When it got tough with Shredder, I thought I was supposed to take on all the responsibility on my own. But that wasn't it. April-Gram-Gram-Sensei told me I was not alone. When I asked for help here, the Corsairs responded. Them comin' together echoed that lesson. I wasn't supposed to fix things myself."
He then gently shakes the turtlekin with the love of an older brother. "That also means you are not alone. You have a whole support system who will fight for an' alongside you. They still count as family, an' I'm not goin' anywhere either."
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Date: 2025-07-03 07:36 am (UTC)As he squeezes Donnie, he lets his gaze drop, looking down at the large crack on the lefthand corner of his plastron. "...I know what it's like. Being controlled." Seeing Donnie walk toward Maleficent with a smile on his face was unsettling. That level of obedience resonates, making his stomach churn as he remembers what Krang Prime had done to him. "It wasn't for very long, but...it was horrible. An' lonely. If it wasn't for Leo, you, an' Mikey — I'd still be stuck like that, an' things could've gotten worse."
Which, to be fair, did get worse in one timeline for them. But he is grateful they managed to shift that narrative, if just barely.
"We may not be able to change anything that happened, but I was reminded of something," he says after a few beats, easing back into the silence that he let slip in after his last thought. "When it got tough with Shredder, I thought I was supposed to take on all the responsibility on my own. But that wasn't it. April-Gram-Gram-Sensei told me I was not alone. When I asked for help here, the Corsairs responded. Them comin' together echoed that lesson. I wasn't supposed to fix things myself."
He then gently shakes the turtlekin with the love of an older brother. "That also means you are not alone. You have a whole support system who will fight for an' alongside you. They still count as family, an' I'm not goin' anywhere either."