#mm!splinter losing his absolute SHIT over the idea of abandoning any version of his boys

[tending-the-hearth]

MORE TURTLE ANGST AU BECAUSE TURT ANGST

because i am very very obsessed with versions of the turtles meeting each other i couldn't stop thinking about the utter angst that would ensue but also the softness and slow found family vibes

specifically the 2012 turtles meeting versions of themselves where tang shen doesn't exist, where splinter's entire world is the turtles + april

the 2012 turtles meeting, say, the rise!tmnt, the bayverse!tmnt, or the mutant mayhem!tmnt?? versions of the turtles whose splinters never had a serious love interest prior to their creation, whose love and attention was always solely focused on them?

i'm thinking about bayverse!splinter, who sacrificed himself for his boys without a second thought, who finds out about another version of himself who has all but pushed the turtles away, the precious turtles who are the light of splinter's life

mm!splinter, who literally was desperate to keep his beloved sons protected from possible dangers, who faced his greatest fear in order to help his boys, seeing how broken, how tired they are.

rise!splinter, who, despite how it seems, can and will put his boys above everything else, who cannot even fathom the idea of not wanting his sons around, of falling back into his life before the boys, seeing these versions of his sons be so easily abandoned

just... the 2012!turtles meeting different versions of themselves, and meeting different versions of splinter, and being so fully prepared to recieve that same cold shoulder, only to be gathered into warm embraces, and have gentle, fatherly reassurances whispered to them.

and they're rightfully hesitant, they're unsure, because having your father immediately turn to his original family without a second thought leaves some lasting trauma and pain, but they can't resist falling into the different splinters' arms, pouring their hearts out as they cry and listen to advice that only splinter can give.

and somehow, idk maybe the donnies make dimensional transport watches bc that's definitely a thing that would happen, so visiting the different dimensions, and hanging out with the different versions of themselves + splinter becomes a weekly thing. and slowly, the 2012!tmnt bring the other versions to their own world, introduce them to xever, and chris, and april, and casey, and the mutanimals, and it slowly spirals into all of them getting together and hanging out.

and the 2012 boys slowly start to realize that they do have a family. it may not be the one they thought they had, but it's even better, and full of people who truly love them.

@queen-with-the-quill @madcatgurl