Bean | 20s | Hobby writer and artist | Canon and OC content | current focus: 2k3 TMNT | No Tcest | Working through my issues by writing about emotionally unavailable men being reluctant guardians
I meant to get to this much earlier, I deeply apologize for the wait.
I AM HERE FOR THE ASK GAME QUESTIONS WITH DAPHNE AND DONNIE 🫵
5, 15, 16, and 24 if it’s not too much trouble ☺️
Lots of love /plat/aff 💜
Friend Crim! Hello! Thank you for asking! I am always happy to yap about these two
5. Who said "I love you" first? How did it happen?
So I agonized for ages over this...until I realized that with these two, it's very likely that their first "I love you" is not gonna be some big dramatic emotional climax plot relevant moment.
That said, it's definitely Don who says it first. It's probably one random weekday night, like any other, where they're lying in bed together. He probably says it when she's half asleep after working extra hours at her job. It's soft, quiet and intimate in a way Daph has become accustomed to after being with Don for as long as she has. Maybe in her half-asleep state she mumbles the words back before going back to snoring.
Don, who did not expect her to return his words out loud, pauses for a moment and takes in the reality of what this means: that she feels safe enough with him to not only show her vulnerability but audibly express it. That's huge.
She may not remember what she said in the morning, but Don could never forget it. And that's enough for him.
15. What objects remind them of each other?
Easiest answer is their weapons.
Don's bo staff is actually a weapon Daphne gets kinda decent at wielding. They make a habit of teaching the other about their weapons and how to use them. Makes for good additional self-defense skills and easier for them to do cool combo attacks.
Daphne is guns. Really any firearm but especially handheld semiautomatics (her handgun of choice is her military issued Beretta M9 that she got while at the EPF). Don actually gets a good eye for identifying the make and model after being with Daph for a while since she's always happy to talk about the pros and cons of certain sidearms. He also becomes a decent shot after many hours of her insistent coaching.
Other objects:
Don thinks of Daph whenever he sees: military boots; oversized jackets; tactical knives; books on anthropology, neuroscience or mechanical engineering; strawberry starburst candy; hot water bottles (she uses these a lot to treat her shoulder injury); fuzzy blankets and pillows (she loves little luxuries like these because the EPF had no such things and life on the streets was even worse); literally any of the projects she built or they worked on together.
Daph thinks of Don whenever she sees: hand tools; a pair of work gloves he gave her for Christmas; her A/C window unit which he helped her fix one obnoxiously hot summer day (and left a silly little poorly drawn smiley face on); her shell cell that he gave her; cans of energy drinks; her sketchbook (he is on many a page in there); lemonheads candy.
16. What scents, textures, sights or sounds remind them of each other?
Don associates Daph with anything marshmallow or strawberry flavored (even if she's more meh on that particular candy or dish); scents that are more fresh and nature based like eucalyptus or pine (her preference) or whatever her current shampoo is scented with (her soap and shampoo are whatever she can get on sale at the store; sometimes it's coconut, other times its hibiscus, fresh laundry, etc.); the texture of weatherproof jackets and soft fuzzy blankets (which she loves) and the warmth of her skin, the roughness of her calluses; and the sound of gunfire (which becomes oddly comforting? the longer he is with her)
Daph associates Don with the smell of coffee. Doesn't matter what type necessarily, but he is a fan of bolder darker roasts. She always smells it on the subway when commuting into work and it puts her in a slightly better mood. The smell and sound of rain also oddly remind her of him, possibly because it was rainy on the night they first met. The scent of car oil/grease also brings him to mind occasionally.
24. What is a happy (dare I say sappy) piece of their lore?
There's so many to choose from so I'll give you two of my favorites from different eras of their relationship:
The first takes place when they were really starting to become friends while Daphne was living at the lair for a while (during the same time as April after her shop got destroyed in s1). Don gave up his bedroom and bunked with Leo so Daphne could have her own space while she lived with them. During the weeks this went on, they got to work on a lot of Don's projects together (her experience working in Bishop's lab over the last year or so before she ran away proved extremely helpful in this regard). They quickly found themselves working on a project almost every day together. It became an unspoken regularity of the household.
Usually they'd spend their time together in Don's lab but occasionally they'd also work up in Don's bedroom that Daphne was occupying. They fell asleep together slumped over the lab table more than once and at one point Leo even caught them passed out on the bed in Don's room. It was a chilly night in the lair and it's a bitch to keep temperatures regulated given the high ceilings and all so Don and Daph were cuddled together in their sleep sharing the blankets. Leo did not breathe a word about it because unlike Mikey and Raph who would have jumped at the opportunity to tease Don a bit, Leo knows better than to risk pissing him off (or at least Leo has the most impulse control of his brothers).
Second piece of lore is from their 'beating around the bush' era aka they both know they have feelings for the other but shit keeps happening and getting in the way (and Daphne is still keeping her past a secret). But this moment is a very quiet one where they finally have a moment alone when everyone is up at the farmhouse. They go for a walk together at night and end up stargazing. Don points out constellations and recites some stories about them while Daphne soaks it in. She opens up to him a bit about how she always wanted to be a pilot when she was a kid or something else that would have allowed her to see different places and learn about different people. He responds that one of his biggest wishes as a kid was to go to university and get to learn everything he possibly could from people who had spent decades in their respective fields. Both of them have gotten to experience the other's greatest want (at least to some degree) and it brings them closer together because they silently vow to themselves that they'll do what they can to ensure the other gets their wish one day.
Sorry about not fixing that sooner. I meant to, I just have goldfish memory. Anyway, Daphne/Donnie questions are what I'm here for.
1: How do they hold each other when words aren't enough?
2: What tiny habit of the other do they find unbearably adorable?
3: If they could go back in time, what moment would they relive together?
(Bonus question) 4: If either of them enjoying singing, what songs do they sing to Misa to calm her down/put her to sleep?
Come make yourself at home! (Thank you for fixing the door and I apologize that this has taken so long)
1: How do they hold each other when words aren't enough?
This definitely depends on the situation because these two have a lot of unspoken communication habits as a couple. Also important to note: they're not very big on PDA; most of their physical affection happens in private, usually when they settle in for the night.
If Don is feeling overwhelmed, he often needs to feel grounded again. Dissociation is a habit both of them have but Don often needs some gentle but firm touches to bring him back to reality. Daph will touch his hand, arm, shell, etc. She's not a very natural comforting person given that she grew up in an environment that didn't encourage that but she tries her best.
Don also appreciates it when her body is pressed against his in some way. This helps sometimes at night after he calms down from a nightmare (he goes through so much in the show, there's no way he's sleeping peacefully every night). Initially he wants space if he's panicked. Sometimes he even needs space for the rest of the night and she'll take the couch or settle onto the floor next to the bed so he can touch her hand and know she's still there. He also returns this favor when she has nightmares about her time in the EPF. If he does want to be held though, she'll let him snuggle into her or she'll spoon him. His favorite position is being wrapped around her middle while under the covers, face pressed into her tummy or chest. (World hard and cold, human partner soft and warm and all that)
Daph usually needs space when she's overwhelmed and Don is happy to give her that. He'll shoo off anyone that happens to be coming in her direction (for their own safety since she can lash out physically depending on whether she's going through an episode; her instinct when cornered is to fight). When she needs touch, however, Don usually lets her make that first contact. He'll always be close enough for her to reach out if she wants to. Often, she'll wrap her arms around his neck, rest her chin on top of his head and kinda lean on him, a natural position given that she's like a head taller at ~5'11" (he's 5'2"), and they'll stay like that for as long as she needs. An unspoken rule they have is that her doing this in front of him means she wants him to hug her back, but if she does this at his back, she doesn't necessarily want to be embraced in that moment. She just needs some literal and figurative momentary support.
2: What tiny habit of the other do they find unbearably adorable?
Don tends to chew on his writing implements when he's very focused. If he has none, he'll stick out his tongue a little. Daph thinks it's possibly the cutest thing ever.
After a long day of work and a shower, Daph likes to unwind by wrapping herself in a soft blanket (and putting a hot compress on her shoulder if she needs to). Don noticed when he started sleeping over that she would rub a finger along the blanket, feeling the material. It seemed subconscious because when he asked about it, she didn't seem to realize she was even doing it. (She was also a bit embarrassed for reasons Don has not yet understood). She also likes to rub her feet together like a cricket when she's cold. Very cute.
3: If they could go back in time, what moment would they relive together?
Ooooh probably they finally got together/confessed their feelings. This happens in season 4 episode 1 right after the events of 'Exodus.' After taking care of a Purple Dragon member inside the barn at the farmhouse (mind you, Daph actually murders this guy because he's actively torturing Don who already has a serious injury), they spend the rest of the night in the loft area where they talk through their feelings and eventually fall asleep underneath Daph's jacket. Don wakes up feeling warm and safe, even if still in pain, and Daph is just happy he's alive.
4: If either of them enjoying singing, what songs do they sing to Misa to calm her down/put her to sleep?
OH CRIM YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW GOOD OF A QUESTION THIS IS THANK YOU FOR ASKING
So neither Daph nor Don have any kind of singing training of course but they both love music and Misa is more often soothed by some sort of melody than just words or being held. Don will sing to her in a soft lowered voice sometimes late at night. It's often something silly like the Inspector Gadget theme song which for some reason seems to calm her down if you sing it and rock her gently. These sorts of songs that work on her cycle in and out so it's a bit stressful trying to keep up with what currently works to put her to sleep.
Daphne tends to get emotional when she listens to music because a lot of her feelings have been repressed for most of her life. So she appreciates it more when she's alone and can have her feelings in peace. The first time she heard the song 'You'll Be in My Heart' was when she was babysitting Misa with April and Casey. April put on the Disney Tarzan movie because Don said Misa liked it. When the song came on, Daphne felt so overwhelmed that she had to hand off Misa to Casey and hide in the bathroom for a while trying not to cry.
Just the concept of a grieving mother taking in an orphaned baby after losing her own and giving this new baby the love they needed and she couldn't give her own baby...it got to her (gee, Bishop, I wonder why..../sarcasm). The whole movie honestly really got to her once she finally left the bathroom and watched the rest. (Casey and April kindly didn't ask why she left).
After that, Daph found herself maybe not always singing but definitely humming it not just to Misa but herself when she was alone. I think what Misa found even more soothing than the sounds of the melody was the vibration in Daph's chest as she'd hum. But yeah it also turned out to be a great tool to calm herself down if she woke up in the middle of the night after a nightmare.
As awful of a father as 03 Bishop would be to Daphne, I cannot help but bask in the idea of him trying to be a better one in Fast Forward only to be legendarily unsuccessful.
Like just imagine from his perspective: one day five of his past enemies just show up out of nowhere and with them...is his long-estranged daughter. Someone who's been dead for decades at that point. He knows the exact date, time and place of her death. It's seared into his memory no matter how much work he takes on in attempt to forget it.
Yes of course he kept tabs on her after she made it clear she never wanted to see him again, why would he not?
But now, there she is. Alive and young again. With nothing but (understandable) contempt for him.
Picture him stumbling through trying to make conversation with her, stoically offering endless resources she might want to use for legitimate or illegitimate purposes by way of apologies, etc. and just failing every. single. interaction.
Here is a man who has quite literally the most power and influence on the planet. Likely a whole network of people able and willing to do as he says at the drop of a hat (come on now, there's no way he keeps winning every single election fairly). And all of that means nothing to Daphne.
Because there is nothing he can do, nothing he can say, that will fix the years of pain, neglect, and suffering he willingly put her through.
She didn't need him to be this insanely powerful person, to be The One Man Who Could Bring World Peace, blah blah blah. What she needed was a parent. And he chose his mission, his work, over her at every single opportunity.
The thing about Bishop though: he doesn't tend to give up easily. Not to say he'd neglect his many responsibilities as president but I could see him using his resources to do small things, maybe even things she doesn't notice, just to "make her time in 2105 a bit easier." It's odd and kind of creepy and definitely overstepping in a way ("no, Mr. President, I don't think we should prioritize giving the new planet security intern the responsibility of 'watching over' your daughter 'just in case'.") but really what else would you expect from a man who uses work to avoid confronting his emotions and positive results to avoid facing the consequences of his actions?
Maybe at some point they end up captured on a dangerous mission together. Bishop, being the president of Earth, is obviously a highly valued target and Daphne, well their captors assume she's an excellent tool to ensure he cooperates with their demands. She laughs in their faces, tells them they're wasting their time, that the only thing Bishop values more than his job is whatever it takes to keep his position. The captors don't believe her and proceed with their threats, telling Bishop that if he doesn't cooperate that his daughter will pay the price for his refusal.
And to her complete and utter surprise, he caves. It takes a few moments of stubborn silence but he does. Of course, this is a strategy. He's playing into the role their captors have cast him in: the fearful father who will do anything to keep his child from harm. And to his credit, it works. They end up getting out of the situation just fine. But what Daphne doesn't know (and Bishop will never admit) is that Bishop's heart genuinely did sink into his stomach when he saw the blaster pressed against her head.
Sure, he's always been a bigger picture kind of man. But that moment, as much as he hates to admit it, it shook him enough to need sleeping pills for nights afterward.
Maybe he doesn't necessarily regret the choices he made to get to where he is now. He's not one to dwell too much on the past. It distracts from the present and halts progress into the future. But maybe, just maybe, he's thought back to his time raising Daphne with a certain level of uncertainty. Maybe, every once in a while, it keeps him up at night. Maybe those sorts of thoughts are the only company he has working late into night yet again as he formulates new ways to navigate catastrophes or stop wars before they can start.
Living with these consequences, these thoughts, these feelings he'd prefer to forget, especially after she's gone again, maybe that's part of his punishment.
Chapter 4 of The Strangers We Always Knew now posted!!
Chapters: 4/? Fandom: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TV 2003), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - All Media Types Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence Relationships: Agent John Bishop & Original Character(s), Donatello & Leonardo & Michelangelo & Raphael (TMNT), Donatello & Leonardo (TMNT), Donatello & Michelangelo (TMNT), Donatello/Original Female Character(s) (TMNT), Donatello & Raphael (TMNT) Characters: Donatello (TMNT), Original Female Character(s), Original Character(s) - Character, Agent John Bishop (TMNT), Leonardo (TMNT), Raphael (TMNT), Michelangelo (TMNT), Splinter (TMNT), Original Male Character(s) Additional Tags: Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Parental Estrangement, Mentions of child neglect, mentions of child abuse, Bishop is a bad boss and even worse parent, Alternate Universe, Friends to Lovers, Whump, Emotional/Psychological Abuse Series: Part 1 of New Friends, Old Strangers Summary:
Bishop’s daughter has been on the run for the past several years hiding in the city and trying to live a normal civilian life. After meeting the turtles, however, she has found herself unexpectedly accepted amongst a group of people she was taught to see as less than human.
But she can only hide from her estranged father for so long.
When Bishop discovers that she is alive and befriended a group of mutants, he is determined to reclaim his protege.
After years of lying and running from her past, consequences arrive as old traumas and long-bottled emotions resurface. Everyone has different reactions to this new development, and frictions abound within the family. Trust must be rebuilt and relationships reforged if she wants to remain with the those she has come to see as her new family.
A story about confronting one’s past, parental estrangement, and finding safety and belonging in the most unlikely of places.
Told in multiple POVs of canon and original characters
I was watching X Files again and thought to myself
"Would Agent Mulder and Bishop get along?"
And the answer immediately that came to me was a resounding NO
On the surface you'd think they probably would. I mean Mulder is arguably just as obsessed as Bishop when it comes to extraterrestrials.
They both know aliens exist and can be a threat to humanity, have trauma related to an abudction, and are determined to protect humanity, often going outside of US govt protocols to do so. But that's where the similarities end.
The biggest glaring difference is Mulder LOVES the supernatural. He's fascinated by it. He wants not only to see but to believe and most importantly to learn. His want to understand is birthed from this love, both for the supernatural and for his sister, who he lost as a child to an abudction incident.
Bishop HATES the supernatural. He hates anything and anyone who appears different from humans, whether they're actually an active threat or not. It's this hate, which is a response to his own abduction trauma, that drives his need to pursue his work. It's where his whole perspective of needing to eliminate anything supernatural comes from.
Sure, Mulder will go to the ends of the Earth to hunt down an alien shapeshifter that is actively murdering and hurting people, but he also understands that not all extraterrestrials or paranormal beings are threats. Some might be dangerous and want to do harm, but others are not (see the episode in s1 about the Jersey Devil). Some simply have their own purposes and are trying to navigate through the world the best way they know how.
Bishop, on the other hand, doesn't care if a being is benign or malicious. To him, any difference, anything 'other' is automatically a threat and must be taken down and studied.
Mulder is an obsessive government agent who still has his humanity. It is his greatest power. His love for his family and friends is part of what keeps him going. His care for people in general does not stop at those who merely look like him. He understands that with this whole different world of unexplained phenomena come a spectrum of motivations, ambitions, and nuances with these different beings.
Mulder knows that just because he doesn't understand something, that doesn't make it dangerous.
Bishop and Mulder would 100% clash not just from their respective morals and worldly perspectives, but if Mulder saw the extent of Bishop's methods, he'd likely do everything he could to stop him. At the very least, he'd walk away and not partake.
Bishop lost his humanity in his attempt to preserve and protect it and his own sense of personal safety.
Mulder clings to his humanity even when it would probably serve him better to abandon it. He might be spooky, but he's also human.
Totally envisioning Scully and Mulder being sent to coordinate with Bishop on something, and by the end, Mulder sabotages Bishop's efforts to capture the turtles because he recognizes them as innocents/Bishop as an extremist, and Scully just shrugs at Bishop's fury and makes some cutting remark like "I've never met an alien, but I have met plenty of monsters *flat stare at Bishop*"
Oooh, also imagine the interactions between Scully and April! Because April and Casey ofc become subjects of interest to interview for maybe knowing something about the threat that Bishop is trying to capture.
Or if Mulder recruited The Lone Gunmen, who somehow Don is either in contact with (telling them shit they could check out about Bishop to legally nail him) or they've come across a lot false trails Don has put out there to keep people away from finding his family.
Or Scully and Mulder tracking down a lot of potential leads like Mrs. Morrison, Tyler, and Angel and them all being like "I have NO idea what you're talking about, but if I did, I would tell you that you've got the good guys and bad guys confused". In comparison to, like, Dr. Finn or members of the Earth Protection Force who are like "oh yeah, they're real alright, and they're EVIL!!! oh how do we know? 'Cause they're NOT HUMAN. What, is that not a good enough reason for you???"
...Yeah, this would be really fun, especially if done in the format of an XFiles episode, I think.
I also love the idea of Mulder getting genuinely excited to be paired up with someone like Bishop who has more power and authority and is willing to let Mulder off leash a bit more than Skinner in order to do his job. Like he finally thinks he's met a fellow enthusiast who he can collaborate with and actually learn something from but then once Bishop finally shows him one of the projects he's working on, Mulder's just...horrified.
I like to think Scully would be able to sniff out Bishop's extremist weirdo behavior from the start. Like she just walks into the same room, doesn't even need to shake his hand and immediately gets rancid vibes. She doesn't trust him at all but she's willing to go along with Mulder and do their job until Mulder tells her about what he's seen.
And I need her to shoot Bishop at least once in this hypothetical crossover
BEAN, MY FRIEND. IGNORE THE DOOR, I HAVE QUESTIONS.
Hi, so I'm figuring out children OCs and it's your fault so here's some questions pertaining to Don, Daphne, and Misa.
1: You might have already answered this and if so, whoopsie pls answer again. How exactly did we end up with an lab accident baby? Misa is the cutest, so I gotta know.
2: Initial reactions to Misa? Not just from Don and Daphne (though they are mainly who I'm interested in knowing), but from the other Turtles/Splinter/April/Casey as well?
3: How did you pick Misa's name? It's very pretty
Hello Crim! Thanks so much for asking! Come take a seat get comfy 💜💜
How exactly did we end up with a lab accident baby?
Ah yes, so short answer is basically Don was being irresponsible (ie working late while tired) and accidentally made a test tube baby who grew very quickly. By morning, she was infant sized. He literally became a dad overnight.
Longer answer involves some prior context:
After the events of SAINW and Exodus at the end of season 3, Don is mentally struggling. A lot. He's terrified of losing his family and friends, that one day they'll get into a bad situation, and their luck will run out, and that one of his brothers could end up seriously hurt enough that he won't be able to save them. He's desperate for a solution, a contingency plan, some way he can quiet these very understandable fears he now holds in the forefront of his mind.
And one day, after seeing one of Bishop's genetics labs, he finds a solution. Don decides to replicate the technology he found and create clone bodies for himself and his family just in case they ever needed them. He uses his own DNA to make his first prototype. His first several attempts are failures but eventually he gets one that's stable and begins to grow properly. Unfortunately, he fails to account for just how sterilized the environment needs to be in order to grow proper clones and a couple other factors. Not realizing this, he passes out at his workbench and wakes up to find a fully formed baby mutant turtle growing in his makeshift stasis tank.
The little one looked a lot like him, which was expected given that she was meant to be a clone of his, but she had a few notable exceptions. The most obvious being that she was a girl, but another was the color of her eyes and some skin discoloration in more inconspicuous spots on her body like the bottom of her foot or the inside of her knee. These mutations that separated her from being a clone of her father came from impurities in the DNA sample. Somehow traces of other DNA had found its way into her cells.
I'll give you three guesses whose it was...👀
2. Initial reactions to Misa?
Which leads us to the fun part: everyone's reactions!
Don was convinced he was dreaming or hallucinating for a good few minutes right after he woke up and his mind was still foggy from sleep. When he realized she was real, he didn't know what to do. He wishes later on when she's a bit older that there had been some magical moment of connection when she opened her eyes for the first time or something that he could tell her about but truthfully, he was panicking.
Obviously he couldn't hide a baby from his family for very long so they all found out the same day he did. To say they were flabbergasted is putting it very mildly.
Raph, once he can find his words, is just incredulous at how his brother managed to do this. Misa entering the picture just complicates what they're all currently dealing with (external plot bs that I haven't totally figured out yet) and Raph is just about ready to kill his twin.
Leo, meanwhile, takes the longest to process this out of anyone. He's just dead silent, internally screaming for like five minutes straight, trying to figure out what the hell they were all going to do about this. He's already past his limit worrying about his younger brothers for the past 20 something years, adding another little one into the picture nearly breaks him in that moment. He has the most "ok this is a thing now APPARENTLY so how are we gonna mitigate it?" solution-oriented outlook.
Mikey is much more receptive to the news once gets over the initial surprise and the most willing to immediately help out. And he proves to be extremely helpful once they all learn the ropes of how to feed, change, and entertain the baby.
I'd say the initial family conversation probably went like this:
"What the hell do you mean ya made a baby, Don?"
"I don't know."
"Bullshit. How long were you gonna wait to tell us that you and Daph--"
"Daph had nothing to do with it."
"...What?" said everone in unison.
"She was never pregnant."
"She got YOU pregnant?!"
"No, Mikey."
"...You cheated on her?!"
"Seriously, Raph? No!"
"Then whose baby is this?"
"Mine. Just mine. I--made her. I guess. On my own. In the lab."
Leo thus far had not said a word and was just staring at the wall.
Mikey broke the silence. "...So I'm an uncle now? Can I hold her?!"
Master Splinter held up a hand. "Not so fast, my son. We must first discuss how to move forward with this new development. And while we do that, I will be the first to hold my first grandchild."
Splinter moves into grandfather territory lighting fast, probably because he kinda had to do the same thing with fatherhood back when he first found all of them. He takes the baby off Don's hands while they all run around making changes to the lair to make it more baby friendly.
The next several days are spent trying to find proper food for Misa and Don making her a place to safely sleep. And of course everyone adjusting to the baby's schedule. Misa's a crier and when she's upset everyone will hear about it.
April is the first of their friends to meet Misa. She's as shocked as everyone else but is also very happy to meet her. Misa, for her part, is extremely confused at what April is and cries until April gives her back to her dad. April takes this in stride and offers to keep a look out for baby clothes and fetch formula or diapers for Don if he needs it.
Casey learns about Misa through Raph ranting to him and he books it down to the lair because he just has to see her for himself. No one lets him hold the baby (a correct decision) but he has the most intense staring contest with this 10 day old infant mutant turtle who looks at him like she's seeing a new species of animal. He asks MANY questions, all of which Don answers somewhat reluctantly or not at all. One such question was a repeat of Mikey's.
"So...was Daph pregnant and I just never noticed?"
"No."
"....Did she get you--"
"Why the hell does everyone keep asking that??"
Eventually everyone notices the color and shape of baby Misa's eyes and Leo is the first one that makes the salient point to Don that he needs to tell Daph ASAP. When April visits, she echoes the sentiment.
Don is reluctant to do so not because he's afraid that Daph will leave him, but that she'll feel obligated to stay with him if he tells her that Misa is technically her child-- biologically speaking. Daph spent her childhood trapped in a situation she couldn't escape from under the thumb of someone who made her feel obligated to stay and remain loyal to him. Don knows this and hates the idea of potentially trapping Daph in a situation like this especially since they had not discussed kids to any significant degree at this point in their relationship.
He has a conversation with Splinter about it and his father is the one that finally motivates him to take action.
So Don does break the news to her but holds back on telling her about the particular detail that Misa has some of her DNA. He makes sure to tell her one on one first and break the news as gently as possible even though he almost feels sick with stress. Daph is quiet for a bit as she processes the information but then proceeds to ask a series of questions (ie how long has the baby existed? How long has he been keeping this from her? why? How did this even happen? etc etc)
Don is much more patient with answering her than he was with Casey. After several long minutes of questions, she finally asks if she can meet the baby since Misa is pretty much going to be present whether they break up or not and Daphne would prefer getting to know her. They decide to put their romantic relationship on hold while they figure out this new stage of life Don has thrust himself into. Daphne helps him out with Misa over the next year or so and eventually decides to become her mother now that she's aware of just how much work it will be and has had time to really sit with the idea. (this takes a long while)
Daph is not really a natural parent and she struggles a lot with being overwhelmed/overstimulated at times, but she tries her best and is blessed with a village to help take care of Misa so that eases her and Don's stress considerably.
Bonus reaction:
Bishop also learns about Misa eventually and is floored at the idea that Daphne somehow birthed her (he doesn't know how Misa was created so he makes the same logical assumption everyone else does). He's caught between being horrified/disgusted and absolutely fascinated at the scientific implications of Misa's existence. He's of course interested in her and this is something Daphne anticipates even before she knows that Misa carries her DNA and it makes her extremely protective of Misa. As much of a threat as Bishop may be, he does NOT know what he's in for when he starts antagonizing his daughter about wanting a sample of Misa's DNA.
On a more unserious note, I have this mental image of Bishop interrogating Don about this where he basically accuses Don of baby trapping his daughter.
"You baby-trapped her. And you did it without even having to get her pregnant."
"That's not what happened--"
"It's brilliant. Very clever of you, Donatello."
"...what??"
"I'm honestly a bit irritated that I didn't think of it first."
"HUH??"
"If I knew that all I had to do to get her to stay here was make a test tube baby to entertain her with, I would have done that years ago."
"...You have got to be the worst father on the face of the planet."
"Says the one who actually put that plan into action."
"There was no plan! This whole thing was an accident!"
3. How did you pick Misa's name?
Thank you! So her full name is Artemisia but her family tends to call her by her nickname, Misa, more often than not. But I chose her name because one of my absolute favorite artists is Artemisia Gentileschi who was a massively skilled Italian painter during the Baroque period. It's not quite a continuation of the Renaissance artist name trend Splinter gave all the guys but it's close enough! (The Baroque period came right after the Renaissance)
Aside from it kinda fitting into this naming trend that Splinter started with his sons, Artemisia Gentileschi's work is extremely expressive and dynamic. It always gave me the impression that she was a deeply ambitious and passionate person. Her work never strayed away from depicting the ugly side of the stories that other male painters tended to portray in a more softened light. For example, one of the most well-known and depicted scenes from the Bible, 'Judith Beheading Holofernes,' was a piece done by many men before her and they often depicted Judith as a meeker hesitant participant in the objectively brutal act, but Artemisia chose to frame Judith in way that made Judith's ferocity and determination come through. She gave her agency and power. (It is kind of a gruesome painting so I won't show it here but if you're interested, look up Artemisia's depiction of 'Judith Beheading Holofernes' and then compare it to, say, Caravaggio's version. Stark difference.)
BUT ANYWAY I loved the idea of naming Misa after her because to me it's a name that both sounds beautiful and carries a certain weight. It's a name that matches Misa's curious creativity which she gets from her father and her fierce unyielding spirit she gets from her mother.
Though Daphne is not involved in picking out her name (because Misa is initially just Don's baby until Daphne eventually decides to become her mom) I think she deeply approves of it. It's the name of an artist, someone who chose a life of making incredible breathtaking things rather than a life of destruction. Daphne is all too familiar with the latter and wants her daughter to grow up knowing none of that.
Perhaps naming their daughter after a creator of beautiful things will somehow bless her future with nothing but beautiful things. That's the hope, I think.
On a secondary more superficial note, I've also seen 'Artemisia' mean 'gift of Artemis' or something along those lines, which is noteworthy and fitting to me because I associate that particular goddess with Daphne a great deal. This is a whole different tangent I could go on but Daphne actually has a code name when she starts training under Bishop and when she does fieldwork for the EPF, and it's 'Athena.' Purely surface level wish fulfillment name given to her by her shitty dad/commander who wants her to be one of his greatest weapons of war against aliens and mutants. As a person, Daphne much more so connects to the interpretation of Artemis as a young woman who protects her fellow huntresses and those who cannot protect themselves. So I like the idea of her eventual daughter having a name with that kind of connection. Makes it even more special.
My entry for @yoursocialchameleon DTIYS challenge 💜
Donnie takes Jun' to go see the 'stars' purely out of spite because she doesn't believe that they're lanterns (she actually does believe him but she clocks his know it all attitude very quickly and figures playing ignorant is the best way to secure his help. She is correct 💜🙂↕️)
They fall in love over the days it takes to get to the kingdom. Donnie is in denial about his feelings the entire time until he watches her light up at the sight of the lanterns floating over the water 💜💜
Anyone else think 2k3 Donnie would be the most romantic partner ever?
I'm talking handmade gifts tailored to his partner's interests and needs, planned out dates, quiet loving words in his partner's ear as he cuddled with them after a long day of work, etc.
I could keep going but you get the point
Perhaps I'm biased though since my fiancé shares a lot of his qualities. I truthfully had a bigger crush on Leo as a kid but after rewatching the show as an adult, I found that I snatched up my own Donnie irl 💜
Absolutely heartbreaking that Bishop's ONE heroic selfless act was a split second decision to save the life of a terrified five year old who he then proceeds to emotionally neglect and groom into becoming a special operative for the EPF.
The absolute tragedy is that this moment is a glimpse into who he could be if he only decided to be that person (aka the Bishop in Fast Forward). A better father figure, a better person, someone more concerned with how their actions affect others rather than preserving their own sense of pride and security. He could have chosen to be better. The instinct he had to save Daphne's life proves this.
He does one good thing in a high-pressure situation where he has to actively risk his life, with no ulterior motives, and he NEVER chooses to indulge that side of himself afterward. At least not until his relationship with Daphne is beyond repair.
That moment is the reason why Daphne clung to him for so long as she grew up. He was a beacon of safety in a world where she had been left alone and scared without her parents. He was someone she held in the highest regard until she realized that he was not and had likely never been the person she thought he was.
And it completely guts her when she eventually learns about how he does change long long after she leaves him and the EPF behind. It's a slap in the face almost, a gut punch. Because what do you mean he decided to be better? He can't be. It's not possible. Why? Because if he was actually capable of change, if he was going to change for anything or anyone, he would have changed for her...right?
Daphne is hopeful to adopt these two special Inuta.
In regards to the safe space requested by Authority, Daphne has access to a special island that has plenty of secure places for Authority to keep her baby. There is a spot Daphne would specifically suggest on the northern side of the island on the mountain top, a spot no one, not even Daphne, would be able to visit aside from Authority. The spot has a cave where Andromeda can safely stay with his mother and Authority can rest knowing that they are alone and secure.
The island does have a few different occupants, one being the keeper of the land named Philomena (a close friend of Daphne's), who is a seasoned naturalist and understands very well the needs of some creatures to remain in solitude. Philomena will have no issues leaving Authority to her own devices to care for herself and her baby and will happily set up a magical shield around the cave area as extra security if Authority would prefer it.
There are a few other creatures on the island: a Valkrite (a stone winged creature that also prefers solitude), a wyrm (a small social companion to Philomena), and another inuta named Char (also a companion to Philomena).
None of these creatures will be able to reach the cave area and will keep their distance if Authority leaves briefly to go hunting around the island for food. The island has many such resources that would allow her to hunt for herself and her young. If she is tired one day or sick however, Daphne is very willing to bring her some meat (as shown in the image) and water to an agreed upon meeting spot to make Authority's day easier and less stressful.
Daphne is happy to allow Authority all the freedom she wants to live on the island and visits it often enough during the week if Authority ever needs anything and wants to make a request. Daphne understands that Authority is under a great deal of stress and is happy to remain in only as much physical contact as Authority allows. She just wants Authority and baby Andy to be comfortable and safe.
The cave is on the northern most part of the island and everyone else tends to stick to the southern end so Authority will have plenty of space to stretch her legs and eventually help Andy exercise and hunt as he grows up. The island has more than enough room for her baby to grow into adulthood without ever being bothered by any inhabitants if Authority and Andy choose to remain secluded. If eventually they decide to venture out and make contact, everyone is very friendly (though the Valkrite may choose to remain secluded to their own area of the island which is far away from Authority's spot).
Daphne is happy to provide regular updates as well on how the two are doing and will gladly work with Authority to return to the inuta sanctuary for checkups.
Congrats, Authority decided on your application! She debated over and very carefully considered each application, but finally settled on yours! She is thankful to everyone who applied and offered her and little Andy a place in their homes. It will take a while for her to adjust and relax enough to properly explore her new home, let alone even thinking about letting Andy wander around, but she is thankful for all the thought and care offered to her so far. Some of the soon-to-be first-time mothers housed in the same ward of the medical center as her and Andy asked her to stop by whenever they come around to visit. They enjoyed their talks with her and want to show off their litters when they come.
A quick addition from the doctors at the sanctuary: They ask that you keep an eye on Authority's leg with the scar for us! Her doctors worry that the wound that caused the scar did a bit more damage than she's letting on. She never really got comfortable enough here to show any sign of weakness or pain from it, and we're hoping it was because there is none, but her doctors would like the extra set of eyes on it for them!
My frontal lobe is disintegrating @beansketches - Tumblr Blog | Tumgag
