Darkside

In the midst of dealing with Splinter’s murder, the boys uncover the Hamato Clan’s dark history and give into their dark impulses in an attempt to make sense of the tragic events that have recently taken place.

This is a rise au by @3lectricinsomnia, @teaableu, and @2aceofspades. We'll just be sharing thoughts, posting art, and dumping lore whenever we get the chance :)

Tags: darkside au, darkside art, darkside lore

After Oroku Saki, Karai inherited the dark armor and became the shredder of her generation. The armor continued to be passed down the family and the Hamato Clan became highly respected/feared, until Splinter.

Since he was born, Splinter has been guided by his mother, Atsuko, and his Grandpa Sho to continue the family legacy. Atsuko believed in the existence of Yokai from ancient family texts about them (specifically the Miyamoto lineage) coming after the Hamato family over generations. Her goal was to purge the Yokai from existence, believing them to be entities that would bring her family harm. 

Atsuko finds the whereabouts of the Edo City but gives birth to twins, Miwa and Yoshi, before she could take action. Atsuko rejected Miwa and cast her out of the family because she was ill, so Splinter became the heir (there will be a separate post about Miwa's history).

Atsuko dies early in Splinter's life. Grandpa Sho tells Splinter about Atsuko’s plans to destroy Yokai kind and encourages him to finish what she started, so when Splinter’s finally old enough to use the Dark Armor, he’ll destroy Japan's hidden city, Neo Edo.

Ever since Usagi's village was attacked by Shredder (aka Hamato Yoshi), he has been afraid of the dark. He takes vengeance for his village and family by hunting down and killing Hamato Yoshi. After this, Usagi is held prisoner by the Hamato Clan once they discover his involvement in Splinter's death. Leo continuously visits Usagi in his dark cell and uses psychological torture to make Usagi pay for what he did to Splinter

~Initial concepting and inspo~

Hamato Raphael (18) After the invasion, Raph gets a whole lot of nightmares about the Krang and is always overwhelmed, which leads to him occasionally losing his temper. | After Splinter’s death, he finds a mysterious box in Splinter’s room that contains his journal, family scrolls, and secrets. He helps Donnie with translations while simultaneously managing his nightmares, temper, and making sure his brother’s don’t get killed (mainly Leo). Eventually, Raph discovers that he can tame Krang-infected people and makes the infected Foot Clan his family's guard dogs. This allows Raph to regain some sort of control over his trauma.

Hamato Leonardo (17) After the invasion, Leo starts going out at night to look for trouble. He starts to believe that death and destruction follows him everywhere he goes. It starts with fighting bad guys, but he gradually starts blurring the lines between bad and good. | After Splinter’s death, Leo adopts the persona of Death and really leans into this character. He goes looking for suspects and uses unethical methods to get answers. After he learns the truth about the Hamato Clan, he feels less guilty about what he’s doing. 

Hamato Donatello (17) After the invasion, Donnie coops himself up in his room and stays up most of the night tinkering with strange objects. He suffers from migraines, which is a side effect of integrating with the Krang ship. | After Splinter’s death, he switches focus and almost obsesses over the Hamato scrolls, which he’s tasked with translating. After knowing the truth about the Hamato Clan, he will find and utilize scraps from the Krang ship that crashed into Earth to build something that will ensure his family is protected. During this process, there is an explosion that causes Donnie to hallucinate.

Hamato Michelangelo (16) After the invasion, Mikey’s adjusting to his injuries and starts drawing Krang symbols in his art. | After Splinter’s death, his drawings become more vivid as his mental state declines. After uncovering the truth about the Hamato Clan, Mikey convinces himself that everything bad that happened to their family was for a reason. He seeks comfort in the Krang and will view them as holy beings whom he'll worship.

Yuichi Usagi (17) Usagi is on a mission to hunt down the man who had destroyed his village, and his family. He hires Murakami Gennosuke to help him track down and kill Hamato Yoshi. | After the deed is done, he meets Leo and helps him search for his father’s killer without knowing that Leo is Yoshi’s son. When Usagi finds out the truth about Leo, he’ll attempt to kill him. Usagi is afraid of the dark because he can hear the screams of his burning village.

Additional context:

Splinter has a secret box that is basically like an archive of all the bad things that the Hamato Clan has done in the past (I'll probably make a separate post that dives into the family lore). 6 months after the invasion, Splinter is killed by Usagi.