That is true. Imagine if Splinter chose a turtle slightly to the left of Donatello. Imagine if he overlooked Mikey and chose a bigger, older turtle. Or if instead of 4 turtles he got three. Or five instead of four. The thought that we could've gotten a completely different set of turtles so easily is both scary and intriguing.

Awesome story and I can see Donnie having this question about their purpose and then knowing what it is later in life. I can also see how Splinter would be distressed at not being able to have the answers his son wants. All parents want to be able to help their kids, but this is one time where Splinter doesn't have the answers and it frightens him. But he did have the answer and Donnie knew it. Nicely done on this.

The Bubbly One,
Shell

Wow, this is an emotional roller coaster! Brilliantly written and absolutely amazing!

Wow! That was powerful! You don't a lot of Splinter and Donnie stories, and this one was really good. Great job.

Crying! Crying! Crying! That was absolutely beautiful! Wonderfully written! Adored this powerful father/son moment!

Awesome.

AHHHH CUTE CUTE CUTE AWWWW

Cool! During an existential crisis, the best thing someone can do is listen, and that's just what Splinter did.

OMG I just love this XD

OMG, this was a good story! I almost cried when Donnie asked what was the point of it all. I really like how you ended it with Donnie finding some clarity, and managing to shock Splinter again. Your grammer is perfect, that also made it a joy to read. Amazing job and I can't wait to read something else of yours.

Oh, this is so lovely! Poor Donnie, and poor Splinter, struggling to deal with their very lonely reality. So well done!

Wonderful piece! Warm, sad, heartbreaking but with a lovely end full of hope. Warm fuzzy win! Thanks for sharing!

I love how you portray interactions between Donatello and Splinter- you are my favorite writier for those. This was a very touching story, and plot idea- I teared up when young Donatello was expressing his frustrations and sadness to his father, feeling just as Splintet was in the story. And what splinter said about Donatello being useful has, to me, an even greater meaning in light of what happened in Outspoken- someone else noticed his usefulness, and this is causing him and his family great pain, and also with donatello kidnapped the family is noticing just how useful he is and what a huge void he left. Wonderful one shot here!

Who let the onion ninjas in?! Dammit...
I suppose it would be natural for the son who thinks the most to also suddenly find himself in existential quandaries.

Caught a couple typos:
Splinter's rob
And you're inventions - your
It is not everyday that I find myself completely useless - every day

Stay awesome! Happy New Year!
R/s

this was amazing! it was beautifully written and it ended wonderfully