User blog comment:Jason Bourne Hamato/Ask the TMNT project!/@comment-995426-20170623104958

Hey, 2012 Raph, what gives? Or, should I say: Hey, 2015 Raph, what gives?

Look, I saw you from 2012 to 2014. You were the coolest big sister Donnie could have. Your sharp wit came with hot sauce for added burn. You would talk with April as if you knew exactly what she was feeling even when the other guys didn't. Your encounters with Karai were more like catfights&mdash;whomever could outcat the other was the winner. And you vogue-dance like a natural. You were such a bitch, and we loved you for it. And that was all before Slash, and...let's just say you may have overplayed your hand. :) By the way, taking his photo with you as your one most cherished possession? The feels, man.

But after you got back from the farm, you became Mr. Bland. Your speech and behavior were like cardboard. You couldn't even get angry convincingly, and that used to be kinda your thing. You stopped being a good sister (or brother) to anyone, and started being such a cold fish to Slash for no clear reason. Your battle savvy became as dull as a door nail, and you became so easy to schmuck-bait&mdash;you, who smelled skank in Leo's crush on Karai from a mile away. And you went from being catty and clever to just plain...unpleasant, especially with Zog, who by the way was right on the money about every criticism he threw at you. And then you implausibly find the epic love of your life after less than 30 minutes of speed dating? Who are you and what have you done to Raphael?

Oh, I get it...You're an alternate universe doppelg&auml;nger. Did you find some secret portal to the Battle Nexus and meet your other self there and switch places with him like Mirage Splinter did? Where's the Raphael you replaced?

Raph: Exactly how long do you expect me to sit here and take this?

Well, it would help if you gave me an answer, "Raph." :)

Donnie: You really shouldn't be so hard on Raph. It's not really his fault.

Raph: Not my fault? You're actually buying into this?

Donnie: Just bear with me a moment. Now imagine, for the sake of argument, that our lives aren't real, that we're instead a work of fiction being written by someone somewhere else. Now imagine that it's not always the same writer, but many different writers who take turns writing our story.

Raph: Is there a point somewhere in there?

Donnie: Well, sometimes, as those writers keep changing, they forget details about us along the way, and may invent new details about us that may not have seemed plausible in our recent past.

Raph: Hey, I've always been me. Are you saying I haven't always been me?

Donnie: Well...  Yeah. I mean, in theory.

Raph: ...I actually vogue-danced?

Yeah, you did. Like a total prima donna too.

Raph: Why don't I remember it?

Well, that's part of what I'm wondering. You...don't seem to be "you" anymore. None of you.

Donnie: It's an interesting theory, I'll admit. But even if it's true, there's no way we can prove it, because our lives will have changed without us ever knowing it. But I have an alternative hypothesis.

Okay.

Donnie: Perhaps we're not changing, but you keep revisiting "us"&mdash;or at least versions of "us"&mdash;from different parallel universes each time we visit. The differences between the parallel realities would seem imperceptibly small to you at first, but the differences would accumulate over time. That would mean that both Raphaels you speak of...are actually real, but belong to different alternate realities.

Raph: So I have always been me?

Donnie: You actually followed everything I just said?

Raph: Hey, I'm not Mikey.

Okay, so that might mean there aren't just two Raphaels...but potentially dozens of them?

Donnie: Infinite numbers of them, really. As many as there can be numbers of parallel realities. But like I said, this is hypothetical. You should probably ask Renet or Lord Simultaneous.

Okay... So which version of Renet would that be? I presume there's more than one of her as well.

Donnie: ...  Huh. It hadn't occurred to me there could be more than one.