“ I LOVE THE SMELL OF GASOLINE; I LIGHT THE MATCH TO TASTE THE HEAT. I’VE ALWAYS LIKED TO PLAY WITH FIRE. “
[ kazuma mitchell, cis man, he/him ] ah, DONATELLO HAMATO from RISE OF THE TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES, a 19 year old TECHNICIAN! they’ve been with the company for ONE YEAR, and live in the JUBILANT JACKALOPE HALL, SUITE NUMBER 2420. they’ve shown themselves to be a BRILLIANT but ARROGANT person, and remind people of RIPTIDE BY GRANDSON. guests often remark that their vibes are THE SOFT GLOW OF PURPLE NEONS, BARED TEETH, and A DEVIL-MAY CARE ATTITUDE.
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trigger warnings: stalking, neglect, abuse
major spoilers: rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles season 1
broad backstory
If Donatello knew just how much history his family actually has, his brain would probably explode. As it is, all Donatello knows is that he and his brothers have been adopted. Twice.
The boys’ biological father was a famed actor, renowned for his fighting abilities & good looks. He immigrated from Japan, and became a massive hit in the B-movie circuit of America, producing dozens of movies, merchandise, & even liscensed martial arts studios. The conceited actor left a string of broken hearts all over Hollywood— and also several children. He didn’t want anything to do with them. Family was a mistake and just full of heartbreak, in his opinion. He had far better things to do.
The boys all eventually ended up in foster care as they either lost their mothers or were given up one by one— and one by one, they were taken in by a foster parent who knew more of them than he should. This foster parent was a disgraced scientist, having been told many times that his ideas were too far out there, and shouldn't be pursued. He had zero actual interest in children— they were gross, slimy things that cried too much.
But he saw an opportunity when he became aware via the front page of a tabloid, of the fact that a certain famous fighting actor supposedly had children who shared his DNA. The reporter had followed a string of letters sent to the actor, that had been thrown away immediately after reading them. The mothers had all refused to put a parent down on the birth certificates, so there was no proof besides the letters, and no one else cared enough to investigate. Though disgraced by the professional community, he still had friends in high places and through his significant influence, Draxum was able to unearth the whereabouts of each of the four children, and took them into his wardship.
Draxum pretended the part of a loving parent when in the presence of officials, but in reality, Donnie & his brothers were adopted by a cold man who wasn't very interested in them at all. Just the money he could get from the state, and the even larger money he could get through child support if he could prove their parentage like he'd planned. Unfortunately for him, he never got very far in his endeavours.
An experiment gone wrong triggered his home lab to explode, and the incident caused him to be deemed unfit to be a parent, when the eldest was just four. The boys were taken and placed back into foster care— but they weren't there for very long before being adopted.
This man who adopted them was kind, and genuine, and immediately loved the boys for exactly who they were, flaws and all. He didn't care about their heritage or their many behavioural issues they'd developed. Of course, this love for them was strengthened by the fact that they were in fact his biological sons. The actor’s most recent and beloved girlfriend had left him for being too absorbed in his career, and by the time he'd realized what a mistake he'd made skipping out on all of his family (not just his boys), he'd lost everyone. He thought they were gone forever, until the story of the explosion showed up in the papers, alongside a picture trying to entice someone to adopt them. Somehow, through a parent’s instinct, he just knew those were his four boys.
The pressure of his career had become too much, and now that he was going to be an actual father, he had taken on a new name and new life, and left it all behind. The government was unable to return the boys to any of the living parents— they refused to take their children back. But the unusual man named Splinter, who seemed a suitable candidate, was interested in keeping all four boys together and raising them with love, and thus was permitted to adopt them.
Immediately after getting approval, he packed up his boys and fled to New York City, far away from Hollywood. After hearing the sort of situation they had been living in with Draxum, and piecing together the pieces from some letters he’d received from him years ago, he feared for his sons' lives and welfare should the scientist ever find them again. He moved them to a busy and bustling city where none of them would stick out, kept them homeschooled, and kept them sequestered inside for most of their young lives, rarely letting them out without him. The boys didn't mind this— they had each other and they loved spending time with their father, but they grew up with next to no friends, aside from one very persistent April O'Neil whom Splinter eventually welcomed into the family like a daughter.
Ashamed of his past and the way he'd acted though, Splinter never told his sons he was their biological father. He let them grow up believing they were adopted, because it never made a difference to any of them. They were happy and content. His past and family came with far too much baggage that he did not want to subject his sons to. He felt like he was protecting them by leaving it out. Protecting them by leaving out what they had all missed out on due to his mistakes, from the nightmares they'd gone through before he'd changed his heart. He also feared what may happen if they found out his fame and if they began to pursue it or any answers themselves. He knew he could not stop the inevitable if his boys were find out, and they would find out because they were curious souls, but he wanted to make sure they didn't know until they were old enough to use caution
There were many incidents throughout the years, though none were so big as the one that brought his sons into his life, until the day Splinter realized that Draxum had moved to NYC. Unwilling to take a chance, he packed up the boys and fled again, to an even more remote town called Verne Cove, and he made sure to pay off a resort owner very well in exchange for essentially living off the grid.
donnie-specific backstory
Fast forward to the present, and the four boys are all fairly well adjusted and vibrant young adults, with their own passions and interests.
Donnie had a frustrating time growing up— he was the only one out of his brothers who suffered an extreme injury during their time with their first foster father, and was often not allowed to participate in the boys’ rough-housing due to his bad back. He did so once, and strong little Raph was incredibly rough with him, like he was used to being with his other brothers. However, instead of making him laugh like it made Leo and Mikey laugh, Splinter ran into the room to Donnie screaming and his brothers sobbing, and that was the end of that for a few years.
This isolation caused Donnie to turn to books, musicals, and tinkering with stuff around the house to keep himself occupied. Occasionally he got to play with his brothers, like when Raph had tea parties with his teddies, Leo came into his room with an extra action figure, or Mikey dragged him out to sort through his box of crayons with him, but kids being kids, they couldn't help but play in high energy ways. Donnie had to get used to occupying himself, and as it turned out, he was pretty brilliant when it came to technical work. He created all sorts of interesting things for around the house, but still often watched wistfully as his brothers ran outside to climb trees in the park, and his father pat his head.
For his eighth birthday, something changed. He'd thought it was weird when his brothers hadn't gotten gifts on their preceding birthdays, but was shocked to find out that what they'd actually asked their father for was a way to play with Donnie. Splinter had saved up all the money he normally spent on their gifts, and bought Donnie his first protective back brace. It was designed to stabilize and prevent possible spinal overload from activity, giving Don the ability to be much more active than he previously was able to. It excited Don, and opened his eyes to possibilities, and after some research he quickly began improving on its design and crafting together pieces to supplement its protective ability, like the lightweight fiberglass backpack he typically wears. He was finally able to join in on his brothers' adventures, and while he's still stand-offish sometimes, nothing makes them happier than hanging out together. He’s still passionate about science, perhaps even more-so, because to him, the wonders of science are what helped him get some semblance of normal.
Donnie's backpacks are now typically more than just protective and contain some sort of tech, but thanks to the back brace allowing him to be more active and build up more core strength, carrying that around isn't a problem. He's still incredibly sensitive if he gets hit in the back while not wearing his brace, but with it and the specially designed backpacks, he can easily participate in the sparring sessions with his brothers and father.
deets
Donnie’s backpack tech varies, but his two tech staples are his wrist tech and his goggles he wears pushed up on the top of his head.
While all the brothers know ninjutsu, Donnie prefers to use his bō staff when sparring. So far they’ve never had much practical use for the martial arts, but their dad still insists they know it.
brothers headcanons
(( NOTE: these are my personal HCs for his relationships w/ his family and can definitely be changed if they’re picked up! mostly adding them to see if i can tempt anyone to come join the hamato clan. (◡ ‿ ◡ ✿) ))
RAPHAEL (aka Raph, Raphaela )
Though Don ribs on Raph all the time, he truly does love and appreciate his big brother, and the way the guy protects them all both physically and emotionally. He knows Raph is especially gentle with him, because of the one time he accidentally hurt him when they were kids. It used to irk him when he was younger, particularly because Raph would try and prevent him from joining in on adventures even after getting his brace, but after he showed Raph he would take no shit and was coming anyway, the other stopped babying him so much. That said, he still can recognize when Raph is using his soft voice on him, and it makes him smile more often than not.
((note: I headcanon Raph as having anxiety just bc of his behaviour in the show but this can definitely be changed/ignored by whomever pick him up!)) As second oldest, Donnie has taken up the mantle of being Raph's "big brother" and keeps an eye out for him. Though he can be a little shit himself and probably doesn't help prevent it, Donnie's pretty good at recognizing when Raph's anxiety is acting up, and is usually right there with a teddy bear, a tablet playing a Jupiter Jim movie, and a blanket handy. Though Donnie is very easily bored due to his ADHD, he'll spend as long as Raph needs lounging with the other's head on his shoulder, cycling through the Jupiter Jim library.
Raph is quick to call out Donnie's middle child nonsense, and can sort-of-occasionally get him to listen to him.
LEONARDO (aka Leo, Leon, Nardo)
Like stereotypical twins, Donnie acts like being twins is the worst thing in the world, and often laments how he got stuck with such a prickish, overdramatic and attention-seeking brother (very much so a case of the pot calling the kettle black). However, Donnie loves Leo more than almost anyone in his family, and they get along shockingly well when Leo isn’t pushing Donnie’s buttons.
They aren’t actually twins at all, however when Leo found out they were the same age after being taken in by Draxum, he declared them twins because duh, they’re the same age, they gotta be twins. In reality they’re a few weeks apart, but they always celebrate their birthday together on Leo’s birthday. They still act exactly like typical twins though, down to the ‘psychic connection’ that most twins have.
Donnie is (usually) the more responsible one of the two when it comes to the safety and success of the entire group, and Leo is the more responsible one for Donnie’s welfare. He’s usually the first to notice that Donnie hasn’t slept in a few days or has had a diet consisting only of cheez-its and coffee mixed with energy drinks, and will physically drag Donnie to “movie night”. Which is just an excuse for Donnie to fall asleep within the first forty-five minutes. Leo can always tell when something’s up with him, and Don can do the same, however he’s less likely to act on it unless he has to, because of how much he hates having feelings. He’ll step in if it doesn’t sort itself out though.
The two very rarely actually fight— the household can count on one hand the number of times the two have actually gotten into it, and it’s always like a wildfire meeting a tornado, given how headstrong they both are.
MICHAELANGELO (aka Mikey, Michael, Angelo)
If anything happened to Mikey, Donnie would kill everyone in this room and then himself. Mikey is the ONE person who almost never sees Donnie’s bad temperament, mostly because Donnie finds it hard to have a bad attitude around the world’s brightest ray of sunshine. He’s pretty much the only one he’ll allow to hug him without warning, or hang out in his lab while he’s inventing. The only time the other gets on his nerves is when “baby-of-the-family” syndrome kicks in and Michael starts taking his stuff because he’s used to getting it anyway.
Though neither of them really recognize it, Mikey has Donnie wrapped around his little finger, and Donnie will go to ridiculous lengths to make sure Mikey is happy with whatever he’s wanting. Even if it means helping build an animal shelter for puppies that Donnie doesn’t even like.
As a result, Mikey has almost complete trust in Donnie, knowing the other won’t let him down.
APRIL O’NEIL (aka ‘Pril, President of the Dorky Palz 4 Life Club)
Effectively Donnie’s big sister and best friend, April gets to see Donnie with his walls down a lot more often than his brothers do. Donnie knows she’d never make fun of him (as brothers often do), and knows she feels just as alienated from other people as he does. His brothers all have bright personalities and no problems at all making friends, but Donnie’s too caustic and interested in odd stuff and April’s the weirdo of the neighborhood. Weirdos have to stick together.
Do not give these two the opportunity to roast you. You will regret it.
April doesn’t put up with a single ounce of Donnie’s bullshit, and is quick to call him out when he’s being unacceptable or shirking blame. Raph often doesn’t do this because he doesn’t like hurting Donnie’s feelings, and Splinter certainly doesn’t either, so sometimes she’s the first person to let him know he’s done something wrong. He actually tends to listen to her, surprisingly. Unless it’s regarding their opinions on fantasy. They’ve had actual blowup arguments on how much their opinions of the fantasy genre clash.
SPLINTER (aka Dad, Papa, Father)
Donnie’s relationship with his father is rough. He loves him, and definitely idolizes him, but it’s to the point where he doesn’t see the faults in him or recognize how his dad’s behaviour is hurting him.
Because of the family Splinter grew up in and the way he was raised, he doesn’t have the healthiest approach to family, and often unknowingly deprives his sons of the attention they want and need. Donnie seems to suffer the worst from this, desperate for approval and someone to say they’re proud of him. He can become obsessive when chasing that feeling, to the point his brothers think he’s just sucking up so he can be the favourite son of the week.
Despite all that, Donnie truly does love hanging out with his dad and thinks he’s the coolest, and will jump at the chance to do something with him.
