This story was sooo amazing and totally accurate. I can imagine Donnie's pain when he feels out of place in a family of ninjas and the feeling of not belonging. His intellect separates him from his brothers. I just love everything about him!

This is such a good story! I literally cried. The way you captured the moments leading to the feeling of disapproval was beautiful. Definitely a new fav!

Aww I was so sad for poor little Donnie. You’ve expressed his emotions so well. I could really feel his embarrassment and loneliness. I was a little misty eyed at parts.
Always love a happy ending too,
Thanks for writing. Keep up the good work.

Newsweek!

Aww this story was so good. I love Donnie-centric plot fics, especially those that address his differences from his brothers that lead to mean, unfair teasing- the guy is very underappreciated by his family.

The story was written so well I had a great swell of empathy for little Donnie and I teared up a bit- he just wants to be loved by his family while also being himself, and his fear of teasing and rejection at being the odd man out in his family is palpable.

My fav line was Splinter's: "Remember, I already have one Leonardo. What I need is my Donatello." So touching! Especially bc for me I question on the show Splinter's true love for the turtles since, to me, he is portrayed as favoring april and karia, so are great fics like this to right that wrong!

Glad Splinter figured out what was going on with Donnie, and glad the brothers sensed something was wrong but I wish they had learned the whole truth so they would treat Donnie better. Mikey and Leo were a bit better at the end with the science aspect (Raph was Raph, but that's how he is and you did a good job keeping him in character), so I hope thos trend continues and spills over into the dojo.

Marvelous one-shot, great plot idea, good job keeping everyone in character, well written...to quote Splinter, "well done"!

Think my favorite line in this story was Splinter saying: "Remember, I already have one Leonardo. What I need is my Donatello."

This is just what Donnie needed to hear to put him on the right track k to becoming turtle genius we all know and love. Great story. :)

This was soooo good... I feel soooooo good. I love Donnie! I love you even more for writing this!

I just FELT what Donnie was feeling and you adjusted their maturity Kevel to fit their ages well. Even the way kids can be cruel at times and even kind of prideful about apologizing to each other. This just screamed the kids in my family XD.

Thank you for writing this! May your gift take you before the great ;-)

Awwww! Donnie is just too cute I love it!

EEEE! I'm squealing with delight! This story is so beautiful! Really what a wonderful piece! I loved the way you portrayed Donnie's insecurities! It was realistic and believable for a kid, and a genius kid at that. I could totally tell this boy was smart. Kudos. This was extremely well handled. I could picture the entire thing and I couldn't stop reading until I was done!

Let me tell you something, Splinter is not my favorite character. There's just a lot of things he does, or better yet, things he doesn't do, that make him too passive regarding his sons. And that's okay, I mean it's part of he is a character, an imperfect father. But you've written him in such a way that his actions are understandable, and even if he is not a perfect father in this fic, you showed him trying to be a good father to Donnie. And that made me like him. Thank you!

Your Mikey is so adorable. I was literally jumping up and down in my seat when he went to Donnie at the end! Ah, I just love those two! Leo and Raph can be so insensitive sometimes, but you can always count on Mikey to lift everyone's spirits!

I cannot stretch enough how awesome of a job you did with this story! Definitely going to my favs!

Thank you for sharing!
Flaux.

I really, really liked this! You characterized all the turtles wonderfully, not just Donnie. I loved that, even in his pursuit of being more like his brothers, he still approached it in his own way. I don't know if it was intentional, but I also felt there was almost a side story of Leo seeking Raph's approval. I figure this would have been set at the right age, before their relationship became a constant power struggle.

I also like that you touched a little on how isolated they all are. Donnie really doesn't have anything else to compare himself to. His own abilities really are amazing in their own right. This was a wonderful idea and well-written, and I really wish I had more to say. I feel like I'm not giving this a proper review. I suppose I'll just have to leave you with the knowledge that I loved this. Thank you for sharing it!

This is a great story! Very well done!

Super Cute! loved it!

i always felt bad for donnie cuz he was the one that seemed to be as the only one who was disrespected by his nerdiness. this made me tear up

Aww little nerd child tries to be a jock to earn parental approval. Turtle-style.

Very sweet! My heart always goes out to poor Donnie, not fitting in with the rest of his ninjitsu obsessed family, so fics like yours that have his family recognizing his genius and praising his inventions always make me smile. To quote Master Splinter, "Well done!"