Board Thread:Fun and Games/@comment-24199349-20131121230853/@comment-995426-20141223044909

ShortswitsoxZ:

No. But then, not all the different characters in the different continuities are exactly alike. They have personality differences, subtle or not. 2k12 Donnie has stronger romantic feelings than other Donatelli, and April is relatively closer to his own age. And while 2k12 Donnie can be painfully awkward, other Donatelli can be far more introverted and that much more antisocial, not always caring about other people as much as this Donnie does. 2k12 Donnie and April seem to have been written from the beginning as a romantic will-they-won't-they comedy.

In the Mirage continuity, April also met Don first before meeting Casey, and they initially had far more in common&mdash;April was Baxter's assistant and a software engineer, working closely together to shut down the Mousers. When Casey was introduced, he initially only befriended Raphael. And though the turtles, Splinter, April and Casey ended up living together in Northampton for a few years, Casey's developing love for April was unrequited. Casey eventually took off, met a pregnant woman in Colorado (Gabrielle), married her, and got ready to start a family. But Gabrielle died in childbirth, and Casey adopted her newborn daughter Shadow. The experience helped make Casey more mellow and more mature. He and April only started a relationship after they met again and be reacquainted a while. But all this time, Donnie had really done nothing to pursue April the way Casey belatedly tried to. Volume 4 later showed that Donnie cared a great deal about April, but like a sister.

But the formula is very different in 2k12. In many ways, Donnie and April have more in common and greater compatibility, but also each their own baggage. Casey wasn't introduced until season two, though just like in Mirage, his crush on April is mostly one-sided. Since not all TMNT continuities are the same, and 2k12 certainly has a different character balance, it gives the writers the opportunity to be more unpredictable. I suppose it's possible that April could end up with either Donnie or Casey, or even neither of them. But Donnie had a good head start, which is why it's fair that there are so many viewers that want them to be together.

Also, there's something else to consider. What might happen to Donnie if he's alone for the rest of his life? What if he gives up, retreats inward, and no longer wants to care about other people at all? Then you may get the future Mirage version of him portrayed in Plastron Cafe, where he's no longer with his brothers, and becomes upset when he's forced to remember them. Or even worse, his Mutant Ninja Turtles Gaiden version, which deconstructs an even worse case possible scenario where Donnie cuts out all other people and descends into an amoral madness. Now, I know there are still a lot of readers and viewers who care about Donnie even if they don't want him to end up with April. But I think, if April and Donnie can make each other happy, then perhaps they should. And then Casey could still potentially be written to fall in love with a new 2k12 version of Gabrielle. After all, even Mirage Casey never stopped loving Gabrielle, but he moved on with April only after she died.